


Hidden

by solobarnes



Series: The Fallen Warriors Series [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers Family, Bisexual Male Character, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Female Friendship, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Healing, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, POV Bucky Barnes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shapeshifting, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Strong Female Characters, Wakanda (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 53
Words: 110,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28799001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solobarnes/pseuds/solobarnes
Summary: Originally published July-September of 2019 on Wattpad.Soroya Roberts and her brother Alex are adjusting to life in Wakanda. Soroya eagerly awaits the return of the man she loves, helping the king of Wakanda and uncovering a sinister plot in the land they now call home. Now a free woman, Soroya has to decide what she wants to do with her life, if she wants to live a life a peace, or if she wants to use her powers to help the innocent people of the world. But the life of a hero might be harder than she thought, and it may bring a toll that will affect her forever.Alex Roberts is trying to move past all he has been through, trying to heal from the wounds left open by HYDRA. When chaos erupts in Wakanda and he and his sister are pulled into the mess, Alex will have to learn learn that trusting those around him and opening his heart isn't such weakness, but key to living life and surviving. As the three of them try to come to terms with their past, they must decide what they want for their future. And though Bucky and the Roberts siblings may think their war has ended, they will find out that the true war has just begun.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Fallen Warriors Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111508
Kudos: 4





	1. Very Wise

**PART I: BLACK PANTHER**

**  
_POV:_ **   
**Soroya**

I wake up with the sun shining in my eyes. I squint as I pry them open, seeing the tall buildings of Wakanda sparkle as the sun rises. As much as it annoys me now, I'm grateful I have such big windows in my room. Wakanda takes my breath away. Rolling over onto my side, I force my eyes open, looking out the window and taking in this extravagant country in.

When we first arrived in Wakanda a few days ago, I remember Alex and I staring in awe at how beautiful this country is. I remember feeling terrified as we went through the invisible barrier. Smartphones are one thing to wrap my head around, but a forcefield out of Star Wars is another. I couldn't form words when I set eyes on the flowing rivers, green trees, and glistening buildings. I still can't. It's breathtaking.

Steve landed the jet at the palace, and there to meet us was King T'Challa, his mother, and his sister. Steve greeted each of them before informing us he needed to get going. I thanked him profusely, not just for bringing us here, but for protecting Bucky. He squeezed my hand, sending a nod over to my brother before getting back onto the plane.

King T'Challa is much younger than I would have thought, no older than me. He has the pure air and grace I expect a king to have. He has been nothing but kind to us since we arrived. He's also brilliant and handsome as well. His sister is also quite extraordinary. She's absolutely bright and beautiful. It shocked me to learn she's only sixteen.

T'Challa gave us both rooms in his palace, with full access to go anywhere we liked within the Wakanda border. He gave us a personal tour of Wakanda, and I found that not only is the country itself beautiful, but the people are lovely too. They're always smiling, always safe, and happy. In the streets, there are markets where some of the best smelling food I have ever encountered is being sold. There are beautiful fabrics and clothes worn by the young and old. The houses, though simple and small, are just as warm and welcoming as the people who live in them.

Outside of the city there are many farms where animals are raised and many lakes reside. T'Challa also took this time to explain to us what Wakanda was, and how it came to be. I must say it was the most silent I've ever seen Alex. He found the history of this beautiful country just as fascinating as I did.

In this tour, we were shown Shuri's lab. It is ginormous, with tinted glass walls, white metal interior, and technology to match Tony Stark's. She works in the lower level of the lab, where other scientists bustle around at her disposal. In this part of her lab, the cryogenic chamber containing Bucky resides. I almost cried at the sight of him.

Shuri reassures me that she will find a way to cure him of his brainwashing. She also told me I could come and visit him anytime I'd like. I have taken her up on that offer. I go and see Bucky at least once a day. Alex has pointed out how pathetic that is. I do have to admit he has a point. I sit there next to the chamber for over an hour. He was frozen for the better part of seven decades. He told me once that he has nightmares of being frozen in chambers just like this. I don't want him to feel scared or alone.

Letting out a sigh, I roll out of bed, still trying to get used to how comfortable this mattress is. I remember the bed Bucky and I slept in England feeling like a marshmallow. The bed I have here feels like a cloud. It has gold-colored blankets and pillows, which match the gold curtains that do a terrible job of blocking out the sunlight. The walls are dark grey with different Wakandan patterns painted in white. The tiles are a shiny charcoal black, cold to the touch as I walk across them towards my dresser.

The clothes they gave us are not only beautiful but fit us perfectly. The outfit I pick for today is a loose black blouse with white waves painted on the edges and the pants to match it. I also put on the beautiful black sandals they gave me.

They also provided us both with desks to put our belongings on, a television, and a radio, which Alex and I both use frequently. Alex's room is right next to mine. He's been rather tired lately since I've had him train every day, not only in shifting but also in combat.

When I walk out of my room, I make my way down the long spiral staircase, seeing several different people scrambling around. T'Challa's coronation ceremony is in a few days, and all of Wakanda is preparing for the ceremony: delivering clothes, preparing boats, practicing ceremonial dances. It's been chaos. T'Challa invited Alex and me to the ceremony. I accepted on behalf of us both, surprised continuously at his hospitality.

As I walk through the palace, I find T'Challa sitting alone in his throne room, seeming to be lost in thought. Curiosity and concern floods through me, so I walk into the room, watching his eyes fly up to meet mine.

"You look distracted, your highness," I say, stopping behind one of the council seats, resting my hands on the top of it.

"I told you to call me 'T'Challa,'" he says, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I wouldn't say I'm distracted, though. I'm just thinking about the ceremony."

"Becoming a king must be exciting."

He nods, but not that convincingly. "Sargent Barnes told me you lost your father?"

I bow my head solemnly, pushing some of my hair behind my ear. "And my mother."

He nods, a look of pain and understanding in his eyes. "Does it ever get easier?"

I decide to sit down in the seat next to his, finally understanding why the ceremony is bothering him: he's becoming king because his father died. No child should ever have to deal with the pain of losing their parent.

"When my parents died, it felt like a part of me died with them. For the longest time, it was hard even to breathe. But I had my brother, and I had Bucky. They helped me get through it as you have people to help you," I place my hand gently on his arm, watching the same pain in my eyes mirrored in his. "The pain will never go away, but every day it does get a little easier."

The last two years of us being on the run didn't give me much time for grieving. Alex and I dealt with it in our way, mostly by just taking each day one at a time. At least T'Challa got to bury his father, got to have a funeral. We had to leave our mother back at the base...there isn't anything left of our father to bury. I don't like to think about it too much.

T'Challa takes in a deep breath, looking at the council seats around him. "I don't know if I'm ready."

"I may have only known you a few days, but I can already tell you'll be a great king."

T'Challa scoffs, looking back at me. "Really? How?"

"Because you are a good man. The world is filled with leaders who have their own agendas or who only want for power. You care about your people. You care about keeping them safe. That's why you'll be a great king."

T'Challa smiles at me. "Barnes was right: you are very wise."

I smile back, feeling my sadness briefly fade as the image of Bucky appears in my mind. "Thank you, T'Challa. For everything."

He knows what I mean by that, merely placing his hand over mine, standing up. "Let me walk you to Shuri's lab. I know that's where your place is."

Next Bucky. He doesn't have to say it for me to know that's what he means. He's right, that is my place. And his is next to me.


	2. Two Similar Souls

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Letting out a groan, I push open the double doors, finding the training room empty. On the grand tour of the palace a few days ago, his kingliness showed us this room. I saw the look of mischief in my sister's eyes the moment she laid eyes on this place. It was then I knew I was screwed.

The next morning she beat me with pillows until I crawled out of bed, having to suffer an hour of her kicking my ass until I could go back to bed. This happened the next morning, and the next, so today I decided to save myself the trouble and get here before she does. We haven't even been here a week, and she already has a routine: wake up at the butt crack of dawn, go to the princess's lab to stare at a Bucky-sicle, then try to make me an exceptional warrior like her. As if having superpowers wasn't enough.

The training room is filled with several black mats lining the floors, and every weapon known to the world adorning the walls. Plopping myself down on the mat, I make sure my shoes are tied. While I do that, the doors open again. Soroya walks in, tucking a strand of her hair back, looking very distracted.

"How's the not-so-figurative Winter Soldier doing?" I ask, but she doesn't find my comment very amusing.

"I've made some progress," She says, tying her hair back and grabbing two sparring sticks. "This time, I didn't have to go up and drag you down here."

I get up off the mat, catching the stick she throws my way. "I thought I'd save myself the trouble and just let you torture me."

"This is important," She says firmly. "Knowing how to fight can save your life."

"I have superpowers for that."

"You shouldn't rely on your powers. Your skills in combat could be what keeps you alive."

"She's right." I hear a voice say from the doorway. General Okoye stands with her arms crossed, her spear leaning against the wall. Something Wakanda has that makes it stick out is that the Kingsguard are all women. I found this very impressive. I could see how much Soroya felt empowered whenever one of them came into a room.

Okoye glances from me to Soroya, saying: "The King has given me the mornings off to look after you and your brother."

"They afraid we're gonna steal something?" I ask, receiving an unamused look from the general.

"Just ignore him," Soroya says with a shake of her head. "I'm grateful, General, but we are capable of looking after ourselves. You don't have to go through the trouble."

Okoye shakes her head. "It's no trouble. From the looks of it, you spend your mornings trying to train this one," she says, pointing at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, much like my sister's. "I could be of assistance."

"That would be great," Soroya says, a smug grin forming on her face. "I've been trying to teach him how to shoot as well as how to fight with spears and fists."

Okoye nods, excitement now in her eyes. "You and I can both teach him hand to hand combat. While you teach him marksmanship, I'll focus on spears."

I already can feel the pain I'm about to endure. These women are getting far too much enjoyment out of this.

The two agree that starting with hand to hand is the way to go. Okoye offers to fight me first, and Soroya gladly goes to the sidelines, watching the fight ensue.

Okoye doesn't go easy on me, not wasting a second before punching me square in the jaw.

Stumbling back a moment, I feel like she purposefully didn't tell me we were starting to punch me.

"You're supposed to block the punches." Soroya comments.

"Shut up," I mutter, rushing towards Okoye, trying to aim for her stomach and tackle her to the ground. I manage to wrap my arms around her waist, but she knees me in the stomach, hitting me across the face and sending me down to the mat.

Pushing myself up, I find a smile forming on the general's face. Letting out a huff, I swing at her, but she catches my fist in her hand. As her other fist comes towards me, I manage to grab her wrist, pulling her forward and making her stumble.

She nods her head. "Good, at least you managed to do something."

This time I let Okoye come to me, watching as she unexpectedly drops down to the ground, swinging a leg and wiping me out. I feel my back hit the mat with a loud thud. Before I have any time to process what just happened, Okoye grabs onto my neck, holding me firmly in a chokehold.

I tap on the floor, taking in deep gulps of air as she finally lets me go. Okoye gets up, offering her hand to me. I begrudgingly take it, needing help standing on my own feet. Soroya comes forward, patting me lightly on the shoulder, but even that hurts like a bitch.

"My turn." She says, getting into her fighting stance. I decide that this is how I'm going to go out of this world; from the beating, these two so happily give me. So getting back to where I was on the mat, I prepare for the next attack.

-

Three hours later, I feel like I've been thrown into a meat grinder. We moved onto shooting once the hand to hand combat was done, or as I like to call it: two insensitive people beating the shit out of me. I am actually really good at it. I only missed the middle of the target once. Bucky had spent a little while teaching me, but as Soroya likes to say, practice is essential. When we moved onto spear training, I decided there is no greater pain than getting the butt of a spear thrust into your stomach. Well, I guess the pointy end would hurt worse. I wouldn't put it past the general to stab me one of these days.

I was so relieved when they announced that training was over. I knew I had to get out there, as far away from my sister and the general as possible. I'm currently taking a walk outside, but not in the city, where the farms and lakes reside. Wakanda really is a beautiful place, very peaceful. It's the most at peace I've felt in a long time. Every day I have taken the time to walk around here. I find that after not being allowed outside for fourteen years, being with nature is my favorite place to be.

As I'm walking, I come across a young man by the lake a few yards away from me. He has a broad smile on his face and a paintbrush in his hand, brushing it along the canvas in front of him.

Usually, I wouldn't give this man another thought, but his outfit catches my attention. It looks nothing like the other Wakandan clothes I've seen: he wears a large skirt that seems to be made of straw or grass, high leather boots with fur lining the sides, a hard leather breastplate, and an animal skin cloak resting on the ground next to a chest of paint.

Curiosity propels me forward. As I get closer, I see that this man is a great painter. He's created almost a photorealistic image of the lake before us. I say as much: "You're really talented."

The man turns around to look at me, and it is here I notice how handsome he is. His happy demeanor only enhances his beautiful features as he glances between his painting and me.

"You're too kind," He says, having the same Wakandan accent I've heard everyone have. The man's eyebrows crease as he looks me over. "What an odd accent you have. You're not from Wakanda, are you?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm not. I'm from Germany...Wakanda is a temporary living situation."

The man smiles at me, extending his hand out towards me. "I'm Khari, Khari Chikere."

Hesitating slightly, I take his hand. I find it calloused and hardened, much like Okoye's. "Alex Roberts."

Khari lets go of my hand, picking up some of his brushes and paints. "Why are you staying in Wakanda?"

"It's a long story."

"One that you're not willing to tell I gather?"

I'm shocked by his reply. He sounds so warm and friendly. He says these things so frankly, without sounding rude or condescending.

"No. I'm not."

"That is fine. Your stories are yours to tell. But will you tell me at least what you're doing out here by yourself when you're injured?"

I shift uncomfortably where I stand, knowing that the bruise on my stomach from the spear must be massive. "I'm being trained in combat, and my trainer enjoys my pain."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"She's my sister. I know she enjoys my pain. Do you have siblings?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"You're lucky. I think mine has given me a broken rib."

"I could have a look if you would like. I have broken ribs myself and could help if they are indeed broken," he offers. I find that words fail me, so I nod, lifting my shirt with a groan. He touches my stomach gently and begins to feel around. While he does that, he continues to talk to me. "Your sister is training you? Is she a warrior?"

I let out a hiss of pain. This makes Khari inspect the area more thoroughly. "More like an assassin," I tell him. "As tiny as she is, she knows how to put a guy on his ass."

Khari retracts his hand, pulling my shirt back down. "You're bruised, but not broken. I would suggest putting ice on wherever you feel pain. Perhaps you should take the next day or so to heal."

He makes his way back over to his painting, beginning to pack all of his belongings up. I find myself asking: "Why do you look different from the of the other Wakandan's I've seen?"

Khari places his cloak around his shoulders, his face looking somewhat melancholic as he explains: "I'm of the Jabari Tribe. We don't associate ourselves with the other Wakandan's. The Wakandans created what you see here; their ships, their tall buildings, and vibranium suits. The Jabari stuck to tradition."

"You don't sound pleased about that."

"I have always hated the divide in our country. I find it pointless after so many centuries. I think there is beauty in change and tradition. I see no reason why they can't live in harmony together."

He says this with such passion yet in such a soft-spoken tone. It's like he's speaking of a future that will never be. It's almost mesmerizing.

"Do you sneak away from your tribe often?" I ask, watching him pick his painting up as well as his chest of supplies.

"Whenever I can, yes. Wakanda is beautiful this time of year. It would be a shame to miss it," He says, smiling at me again. "It was a pleasure, Alex. I hope to see you again."

Nodding my head, I watch as the Jabari man walks away from me. There aren't many people who are warm and open like that, even less who have so much hope for the people around them. Khari reminds me of Soroya. I think the two would be best friends.

Khari is obviously a warrior, and like my sister, he has his idealism despite the things he's undoubtedly seen. Khari suffers the same flaw as my sister. Seeing how troubled he looked as he talked about a better version of his country, I felt quite sad. People like him and Soroya are always going to be disappointed. They keep their standards of people and the world far too high.

As Khari Chikere disappears over the hill, I turn around and begin to walk back towards the city. I find myself still thinking about the Jabari man long after I've re-entered the palace.


	3. The Assassin, The Genius, & The King

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"How does it work?" I ask the princess. I'm sitting on the chair behind the counter she's currently working on, drinking a cup of coffee. Shuri looks up at me from where she tinkers with a small round bead.

"Putting a human in cryogenic sleep slows down their metabolic activity: their heart rate, brain activity, cell reproduction. It puts you in a dormant state."

"And this is what also makes you age slower?"

She nods, setting down her tools and glancing behind her at Bucky. "While in that state you age at a prolonged rate. So given that Sergeant Barnes was twenty-six when he was first put into cryo, and he stayed that way for the better part of seven decades, he's biologically thirty or thirty one now."

I push a strand of hair away from my face, taking another sip of my coffee, genuinely amazed. "I bet you hear this all the time, but you really are a genius."

Shuri smiles proudly, finishing off on her project and entirely looking up at me. "Most think it's too risky to let a sixteen-year-old girl make their weapons and medicine. I love proving them wrong."

"I became an assassin when I was twelve. Those people don't know what young girls can handle."

Shuri gives me a look of respect before sitting down in the seat next to me. "I don't mean to pry, but my brother told me about you. About your abilities. Tell me, do you have to take your clothes off before you shift into animal form? Or do you just let them rip?"

"I take them off. I learned the hard way that ripping each pair of jeans I have isn't a habit to get into. Why?"

"I've been sketching out some designs for suits you and your brother can wear."

I raise my eyebrows, watching as she grabs onto a notebook and flips through the last few pages. I can't help but smile at the several different suit sketches stretched across the pages. "You're making us suits?"

She nods, flipping to a blank page. "I need some information, though, may I?"

I nod to her, watching as she begins to jot down notes on the page. "Is there any pain when you shift?"

"Yes. It used to be much worse, but now it's just a mild stretching feeling and some soreness."

"You can turn into any animal, yes? Including cold-blooded and aquatic?"

"Yes, I just can't turn into an invertebrate."

"Doesn't matter what size?"

"Nope."

"T'Challa said you inherit the abilities of the animals you change into. Can you elaborate?"

"If I change into an eagle for several hours or days, for that same amount of time after I shift back to human form, I'll be able to see and hear well. Or if I change into a fish of some kind, I can breathe underwater as a human."

"So let's say you change into a shark, an eagle, and a wolf within a few days. Will you have all their powers at once?"

"Yes. I've changed into a bear, wolf, cheetah, and jaguar that I pretty much have their abilities constantly."

Shuri sets her notebook down, gesturing for me to stand up. "Put your arms out and spread your legs." I do so, watching as she taps on her bracelet and begins to scan me.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking your measurements. I'll need your brother's too."

"I'll find him and bring him here later," I say once she's finished, watching her jot down what my measurements are.

I reach out and lightly touch her arm, smiling at the young girl. "I appreciate you doing this."

Shuri shrugs. "I'm just excited for you to see what I create."

"Don't make the suit an ugly color," I joke. "I don't look good in purple."

She lets out a chuckle, writing that down. "Duly noted."

-

Walking through the palace a few hours later, I again see T'Challa by himself. Only this time, he's sitting alone on the balcony overlooking the city, not in his throne.

I decide to join him, taking in the view. "It truly is beautiful," I say rather breathlessly.

He nods, taking a deep breath. "I never get tired of seeing it."

Looking over to him, I bump my shoulder with his. "Why are you out here all alone?"

T'Challa takes a moment to answer, but when he does, I notice how puffy his eyes are. "I'm just trying to deal with all of this."

I nod my head slowly, understanding what he's going through better than anyone. "Do you want to know what I did?"

He looks over at me, nodding to me. "I kept moving forward. The more you stand here dwelling on what happened, the more miserable you'll make yourself. Would your father want you to stay here like this?"

He shakes his head, wiping a tear away. "No, no, he wouldn't."

"What do you usually do? When you aren't helping run a country, of course."

He slightly smiles, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I like to go to the city. See the people."

I push my hair behind my ears, extending my hand out to him. "Then, let's go."

His smile growing a little more, the king of Wakanda takes my hand, allowing me to lead him off the balcony.

Okoye and a couple of the Dora Milaje accompany us as we walk through the city, which is a welcome addition. I've come to enjoy Okoye's company. It's clear she's a friend of T'Challa, and friends are what he needs right now.

We come across the market part of the city, where booths are lined for half a mile. A booth that sells beautiful bracelets and necklaces comes into view. I find myself entirely awed by the decorative accessories before me. One item, in particular, a one-inch wide gold bracelet, has a phrase engraved in it that I can't make out.

"What does this say?" I ask T'Challa, handing him the bracelet.

He stares at it for a moment before replying: "It's Xhosa. It means: 'shine light upon others as to allow them to show you their glow.'"

I smile at the bracelet as I take it back, eyeing the woman running the booth. "I would like to purchase this, please."

T'Challa hands the woman money, holding his hands up before I can protest. I place the bracelet on my wrist, feeling like it's meaning speaks right to my soul.

"My father used to take us down here all the time. He would have us talk and play with the people who worked here. He always said...he said that a king doesn't run his country, his people do. A king's job is to look after his people because the people are what make a country great."

"Your father must have been very wise."

T'Challa nods sadly. "He was."

"My mother used to say something to me, growing up: 'Do not look at people with your eyes or mind and make a judgment. You must look with your heart and trust that it can see who people really are'. She first told me that when my brother scolded me for being too forgiving of these three girls who beat me up for wearing my dancing uniform to school. I remember coming home to my mom and crying, but not because of what they said to me, but because I felt terrible for them. I knew their lives must be horrible if they did something as mean as that."

"Your mother must have been very wise."

"She was," I say with a soft smile. "And if I hadn't taken what she said to heart that day, I probably wouldn't have teamed up with Bucky."

T'Challa looks at me curiously. "Oh?"

"He and I had met before. But at the time, he was brainwashed and did all sorts of horrible things to me. I remember vowing to kill him, but when I saw him again, he looked so terrified and confused. I felt in my gut that I should help him and trust the story he told me."

"That's a lot of faith."

Looking down at my bracelet, I nod. "Well: 'shine light upon others as to allow them to show you their glow.' If you give people a chance, they can surprise you with how good they can be."

T'Challa gives me a look of respect as we continue down the street. "Barnes spoke of your strength; that it went far behind the physical. It takes a true warrior not to let HYDRA change who you are and to have those outlooks on life still."

"It takes a lot of strength to take on this big of a responsibility during such a personal hardship. Especially while allowing three outsiders into your home."

T'Challa chuckles to himself. "I certainly heard an earful when I informed the council and my army that I was allowing three outsiders to stay in Wakanda," he says, glancing at Okoye. "The General was strongly against it."

I glance back at Okoye, who is glaring at her king. "At first, I might have been prejudice, but you have been nothing but a delight. I can't say the same for your brother."

I nod in understanding. "My brother is a cynical man. I wish I could change that, but it's who he is. I don't think he'll ever open himself up to people the way I have."

"Perhaps not, but I have a feeling he will come around to seeing your point of view."

"You think?"

He nods, the first genuine smile crossing his lips. "As you said, we all have to keep moving forward," he says, looking to me with a newfound sense of determination. "Eventually, your brother will learn to move on from his past. We all will."


	4. The “Catch Up” List

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"I don't think your brother is coming." Okoye comments. Alex was supposed to show up for training twenty minutes ago and hasn't shown. I think she's right.

I turn to her, shrugging. "We could train. If you wanted to."

"Are you sure?"

I nod wholeheartedly. "I need this."

Okoye nods to me, walking right past the sparring sticks and right for a spear identical to hers lying on the wall. She grabs it, tossing it over to me.

I back up a few feet, giving us room to get ready. Okoye gets into a fighting stance, smiling at me excitedly. "I won't go easy on you."

I smirk at her, tucking my hair behind my ears. "I would be disappointed if you did."

Okoye taps her spear on the ground twice before swinging it up, striking at my head. I bring my spear up, meeting hers with a loud crash. I bring our spears down to the ground, kicking at the general's thigh to put her off balance. This only does so for a second, but I do manage to hit the butt of my spear into her side. Okoye turns, trying to strike at my bottom, but I manage to block her just in time. I push off our spears and take a step back.

I swing my spear around, deflecting a blow she tries to get at my shoulder. She strikes again, and I maneuver around her, hitting the butt of my spear into her thigh, bringing it up to lock around her neck.

Okoye elbows me in the ribs, taking a moment to strike at my side as I try to recover from the blow. This sends me down to the ground. Okoye tries to mirror what I just did by locking her spear around my neck. But I bring my spear up in enough time, pushing against our spears and sending her stumbling back on the mat. I'm grateful for the extra strength my abilities give me, because with her size, there is no way I would have been able to push her off me without the extra help.

Okoye tries to stand, but I swing my spear and send her crashing down, hitting at her ankle hard. She lets out a groan, swinging her spear rather low and hitting my knee. This blow sends me down to the mat next to her. I roll over and turn my legs around, landing in a crouch and striking at her again. She blocks it, and the two of us find ourselves pushing against our spears, seeing who will be sent to the ground first. Okoye tries elbowing me again and I try desperately to get a foot into her thigh, but neither of us budge.

After a moment, Okoye grunts out: "Call it a tie?"

I let out a shaky breath, nodding. "Yeah, I'm alright with that."

Both of us let go of our hold, taking a step back. Okoye walks over to the refrigerator in the corner of the room, bringing back two water bottles. I take one, downing about half of its contents before telling her: "Thank you for this."

Okoye drinks some of her water, raising a brow in my direction. "Earlier, you said you needed this. What did you mean by that?"

I let out a breath, deciding to sit down on the mat. "Ever since I was twelve, my entire life has been about keeping myself alive and trying to find my family. Now that I'm out of HYDRA's grasp...now that my parents are dead and Alex and Bucky safe, I feel like I have no purpose."

Okoye sits down next to me, a look of real understanding on her face. "I completely understand."

"You do?"

"I joined the Dora Milaje when I was a girl. From that day on, I was either training or helping my country. When I finally became an official member, and as I rose through the ranks, my job became so much more consuming. So when the time came that I had time off, I didn't know what to do with myself. Living the life of a warrior is hard, especially for you, given you didn't choose to have this life."

I had no idea how wise Okoye was. She knows precisely what I'm talking about. "I wake up every morning in a beautiful room and comfortable bed, I go visit Bucky, and I train Alex. God, the thought of not doing training today when Alex didn't show up gave me anxiety. I would have had to just go back to my room. And then what would I do?"

"Your life has been about survival for so long that you've forgotten how to live. You will need time to remember."

I smile at her, taking another drink of my water. "How do you suggest I do that?"

"Well, now that you are no longer being told what your life is going to be, maybe you should decide that for yourself. You're not on the run anymore, so your life can be whatever you want it to be. What did you want for yourself before HYDRA?"

I let out a sigh, remembering a time when all those options and open possibilities felt exhilarating and not terrifying. "I wanted to be a dancer. I wanted to travel around the world, find a husband, and maybe even have a child or two."

"Is that what you still want?"

I open my mouth to answer her, but I find that I have no clue. HYDRA may not have changed the fundamental parts of me, but that experience has left a permanent mark on my life. I had never thought about what I would do if I had the chance to have a normal life. I never dreamed it would be possible. I thought the life they gave me was the life I was stuck with.

My future is...well...blank. I have no idea what I want anymore. "I don't know. I think that's an answer I need to find, though."

Okoye gently touches my shoulder. "I'm here for help whenever you need it."

I place my hand over hers. "I appreciate that, I really do."

-

Alex reluctantly lifts his arms. Shuri taps her bracelet again, and I watch as it scans him for his measurements. Once she's done, Alex stares at her curiously as she writes down the information her bracelet gave her.

"What is this thing going to look like? Because I don't want to run around in tights looking like a fury ballerina."

I slap his arm, looking to Shuri. "You'll get used to ignoring him."

Shuri does so, smiling at me. "I am almost done with your suit. It should be done in a few days. I think you'll be very pleased with it."

"Will we be matching? Are we going to run around looking like 'The Shining' twins?" Alex asks.

Shuri nods. "Your suits will be similar, yes. Yours will be a different size, though."

"Any helmets?"

Shuri shakes her head. "I don't think there is a helmet out there that could fit your big head."

I stifle a laugh, getting a glare from my brother. He looks from me to Shuri. "Can I go now?"

She nods. Without another moment, he walks out of the lab, leaving the princess and me alone. I let out a sigh. "I'm sorry about him."

Shuri shrugs. "I'm just shocked at how different you both are."

"I would blame it on the sixteen years of psychological and physical abuse, but he's always been like that."

"I swear if he complains about one aspect of my suit—"

"Don't worry," I assure her. "Given what I've seen from you, he will be too impressed to make a snide comment."

"Is that possible?"

"I've done it before, so I have no doubt you can too."

Shuri's smile brightens as she rips a page out of her notebook, handing it to me. "I made this for you. I started it pretty much since T'Challa told me you were coming, but I finally finished it."

I glance between her and the page. "What is it?"

"I'm calling it your 'Catch Up' list. It's a list of music, movies, and tv shows you have to watch to catch up on the fourteen years you missed pop culture."

I look down at this list, not recognizing half the people and titles on here:

Soroya's 'Catch Up' List:

(Singers & Bands)  
Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Lady GaGa,  
Brittany Spears, Black Eyed Peas,  
Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, One Direction,  
Katy Perry, Panic! At the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Maroon 5, Jay Z, Lorde, Usher Adele, Ed Sheeren,  
Bruno Mars, Kesha, Eminem, Rihanna

(Movies)  
Harry Potter, Twilight, Avatar,  
Save the Last Dance, The Notebook,  
Step Up, Burlesque, Mr. & Mrs. Smith,  
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mama Mia,  
WALL•E, Finding Nemo, Minority Report,  
Moulin Rouge, Frozen, The Incredibles,  
Star Wars Prequels, Toy Story 2 & 3,  
The Matrix, Monsters Inc, The Bourne movies,  
Lord of the Rings, Shrek, Kill Bill, Mission Impossible, Black Swan

(Tv shows)  
Alias, Dancing with the Stars,  
Gilmore Girls, Friends, The Bachelor,  
Firefly, Glee, The Office, Lost,  
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars

After reading the list over twice, I look back up at her, seeing the princess practically beaming. "Every day, I want a report on one of the items on that list."

I let out a chuckle. "Seriously?"

She nods. "Come on. You don't have anything else to do."

I nod, knowing she's right. I guess the answer to feeling no purpose in life is watching 'The Bachelor' and 'The Notebook.' "Alright, where do I get all—" I cut myself off. "You have each item on this list, don't you?"

She nods, handing me a small item. I stare at it curiously, wondering what this tiny black rectangle will do. Shuri smiles at me like I'm her project. "It's called an iPod. It has all those singers and bands on your list. The movies and tv shows are already in your room."

I shake my head, not sure whether to feel more overwhelmed or amazed. "Will you teach me how to use this thing? I've seen them before, but they didn't exactly hand these out to us in HYDRA."

Shuri nods enthusiastically. I have so much appreciation for the princess. She's trying to help me adjust to a more advanced world, and this project gives us something to talk about every day when I visit. It gives me a friend.


	5. A Pure Soul

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

'My loneliness is killing me  
I must confess I still believe  
When I'm not with you, I lose my mind  
Give me a sign  
Hit me, baby, one more time.'

I continue stretching on the mat of the training room, wondering how this song ever became popular. Brittany Spears is not someone I would listen to on my own free will. But for Shuri I continue on, hating the next song of hers even more:

Oh, The taste of your lips  
I'm on a ride  
You're toxic I'm slippin' under  
With a feeling of a poison paradise  
I'm addicted to you  
Don't you know that you're toxic?  
And I love what you do  
Don't you know that you're toxic?

I pause the song, taking my earbuds out. I let out a groan, needing to take a break from the torture I am being subjected to. Thankfully, Okoye walks in, but she looks like she's here for a purpose other than to train with me.

"The king and I are leaving today for a mission. I will not be able to train with you today."

"Is there something wrong?" I ask, beginning to feel worried.

"Nothing is wrong. We are bringing one of our undercover spies back here for the ceremony tomorrow."

"Do you need any help?"

Okoye shakes her head, touching my shoulder gently. "You should take the day to yourself. Walk around, meet some new people, find a hobby."

I let out a scoff. "Trust me; I have the day planned. Shuri has given me a list of things I need to watch and listen to catch up on the 21st century."

"How long of a list?"

"Sixty items."

Okoye pats my shoulder, walking back towards the door and holding it open for me to exit. "Good luck with that."

I reluctantly grab my iPod, walking out of the training room with Okoye following behind. She bids me farewell with a small nod. I make my way back to my room, listening to the rest of my required Brittany Spears songs. When I open my door, I turn the tv on and pop open the DVD player. Shuri showed me how to use it yesterday, so with genuine excitement, I put in the second Harry Potter film. I feel the eleven-year-old girl inside me fill with utter joy, forgetting for a moment the other fifty-eight things I have to endure.

-

**Alex**

Crouching down low, I watch the bird perch on the log. It looks so peaceful, so oblivious to the wolf observing it from behind a tree.

I never actually hunt in animal form. I like to practice control while in this form, as well as how to sneak up on prey. Soroya likes me to practice as much as possible. God, it was a long road to get to where I am now. The fact I'm able to think as myself and remember who I am while in a different form is incredible. I never thought I'd be able to do that. Soroya spent every day with me for three hours, training me to be in control. 'Hold onto your humanity,' she said, and for the most part, she was right: that is how you keep the control. I think of her, and Mama and Papa to stay in control. They are what keep me grounded. They're what keep me Alex.

Alex. How foreign it sounds when people call me that. For so long, I've just been 'prisoner' or 'the untamed' or 'mutt.' Its been two years since Soroya and Bucky rescued me, but in so many ways, it feels like yesterday. Soroya told me that the animal part of us, the beast within, will always be there. She was right about that too. Even though my powers listen to me now, I feel like I'll never escape the prison that HYDRA put me in. The prison that is my powers.

The bird begins to move, turning its head to stare at me. Jumping out from behind the tree, I watch as the bird flees for its life, leaving a not so terrifying wolf behind.

I hear a crack come from behind me, along with a familiar scent. I turn around to find Khari Chikere behind me. I'm shocked to see him for the second day in a row, but my shock is nothing like his. There aren't many giant grey wolves in the middle of Africa. He doesn't look scared, just confused. He's holding a wooden spear in his hands, but it isn't aimed at me. He places the spear aside; like he's trying to show he means me no harm.

I spot a small line of bushes near the log. I walk over towards it, giving me cover to shift back. I watch Khari's face go from confused to shocked to amazed in a matter of seconds. Once I'm fully back, I look at the ground and then back up at him.

"Could I borrow your cloak?" I ask him.

After a few seconds, he nods his head, completely at a loss for words. He hands the cloak over to me, turning his head as I stand and wrap it around myself. I sit down on the log, watching as Khari hesitantly sits next to me.

"I can see why you didn't want to share the story of why you're in Wakanda. It is clearly complicated."

I nod, totally agreeing with him. "It is complicated...but I'm fully in control of myself. I don't want you to be afraid I'll hurt you."

Khari shakes his head. "I wasn't afraid. I trust you."

"Why? You don't even know me."

"I have a way of knowing when someone is worth my trust, it's like a—"

"A gut feeling?"

Khari nods. I can't help but roll my eyes. This confuses him. "Do you not think I am someone worthy of your trust?"

"You don't seem like a psychopath, but neither did Norman Bates and look where that got Marion," Khari doesn't understand my reference, but instead of ignoring my comments as everyone else does, he seems to be trying to understand what I am trying to say. That's definitely a first. "I don't understand how you can open your mind and heart up to someone so quickly. My sister does the same thing."

"It's not as hard as you think," he says, setting his wooden spear down on the ground. "I can always tell if someone has a pure soul. If they do, I know that I can trust them."

"And what if you're wrong?"

"Then I get hurt, learn from the experience, and move on."

I can't help but scoff. His optimism and positivity are too naive to be taken seriously. "I hate to break it to you, but life isn't like that. You clearly haven't seen enough of the world. People are selfish and take what they want. If you go through life thinking as you do, then you're constantly going to be disappointed in people. People don't have good souls."

Khari does something that I don't expect him to: he smiles at me. The look in his eyes is one of pity; like I am the naive one, and he is the one who has wisdom. "I am a warrior, Alex. I have seen many terrible things. But it is because of those terrible things I know there are good souls."

"Really?" I say in a mocking tone.

"Yes, really," Khari says, growing slightly defensive. "When bad things happen, that's when people join together and rebuild. Good outweighs the bad in this world, and if you go through life constantly expecting the worse in people, then that's exactly what you're going to get."

I shake my head. "Why am I even arguing this with you? I just met you yesterday."

"Maybe because you secretly want someone to share your feelings with and are just too proud to admit it."

"Now you really sound like my sister," I say, running a hand through my hair. "What are you doing here, anyways? Don't you have a job? You said you're a warrior; shouldn't you be jabbing someone with that oversized toothpick?"

Khari shakes his head. "How terrible of a life you must have had to cover your pain this way."

"Don't psychoanalyze me. You're not my therapist."

"From what I've seen, I think you need one," Khari comments, grabbing onto his spear, standing up off the log. "But what I could be is your friend."

"I don't need friends."

"Everyone needs friends."

"Why do you want to be friends with me?" I ask, realizing now that his eyes are hazel. In that hazel, I see a warmth that kind of reminds me of the roasted almonds Mama used to make.

Khari's hazel eyes crinkle as he smiles. "As I said, I can see a good soul. And yours, though it may be broken, is the purest I've seen."

I feel my cheeks slightly warm. I look away from his eyes, starring at his shoes as I say: "I'll be taking a walk here after the coronation ceremony tomorrow. If you would like to happen upon the same spot, I wouldn't mind seeing you there."

I sneak a glance up at Khari's face, finding that he's still smiling. His smile has a hopefulness to it that makes my cheeks feel even warmer. "I would love that."

I look back down at myself, remembering the only thing I have on is Khari's cloak. "I have to go," I tell him, turning around. I extend my arms out wide, jumping into the air and letting the cloak drop. I fly into the air like a hawk, looking back around at Khari, watching him stare at me in awe and fascination. He waves goodbye to me as I flap my wings, heading back towards the palace.


	6. King T’Challa

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"You didn't like Brittany Spears?" Shuri asks in shock as we make our way through the hall.

I shake my head. "I didn't like Lady GaGa either. What I did love though is the second, third, and fourth Harry Potter movies. I can't wait to watch the others."

Shuri shakes her head. "I want you to listen to Beyoncé next. If you tell me you don't like her, we can no longer be friends."

"Duly noted. Now, tell me, why was it so important to get that spy?"

We walk through the palace doors and are hit with the bright glow of the sun, making our way towards the queen mother.

"Nakia is T'Challa's ex. I can tell he still has feelings for her, and she for him. They're just too stubborn to admit it."

"So, he wanted her here for the ceremony?"

She nods, smiling at her mother as we grow nearer to her. "Yes. I bet he froze up and became a bumbling idiot when he saw her again."

Shuri hugs her mother. She looks like the definition of grace and beauty, especially in the glow of the sun above us. Queen Ramonda turns to me and holds my hand, smiling at me widely. We had only talked a few times before this, and each time she has shown me the same generosity and kindness her son has.

Speaking of her son, the three of us watch as his jet settles on the ground in front of us. The Dora Milaje stand at attention as their future king walks down the steps. A beautiful young woman dressed in green clothes follows behind T'Challa, with a serious look on her face. Her expression turns into sorrow as she sets eyes upon Ramonda and Shuri. Okoye is the last to touch the ground, she shoots me a smile as she walks towards us.

"Queen mother...princess...my comfort for your loss." The woman says, pain in her eyes as genuine as T'Challa's and Shuri's.

Queen Ramonda smiles softly. "Thank you, Nakia. It is so good to have you back with us."

Nakia smiles at them both. Okoye speaks to her commander, saying: "Take her to the River Province to prepare her for the ceremony."

"Yes, General." The commander says, bringing her arm up to her her chest as all Wakandans do. I've learned it is a way of showing respect and kindness to those around them.

The commander begins to walk away, with Nakia following close behind. She shares a look with T'Challa that does indeed hold love and affection. It makes me smile.

Shuri notices this to, smiling smuggly at Okoye. "Did he freeze?"

Okoye smiles. "Like an antelope in headlights."

Shuri begins to laugh, and I can't help but let out a chuckle myself. T'Challa looks between the three of us. "Are you finished?" He asks us, but this doesn't stop our amusement.

Okoye taps her spear twice, leading the Dora Milaje away, a smile still on her face.

"So surprised my little sister came to see me off before my big day." T'Challa says playfully to his sister. "And you dragged poor Soroya along."

"I didn't drag her here, she wanted to come."

T'Challa turns to me with raised eyebrows. I give him a nod. "I did. I was curious to meet Nakia. She's very beautiful, but I suspect you already know that."

"Alright enough teasing, I get enough of that from this one." He says, gesturing to Shuri. "But it's nice to see you care this much about my coronation."

She scoffs. "You wish. I'm here for the EMP beads. I've developed an update."

"Update? No. It worked perfectly."

"How many times do I have to teach you? Just because something works doesn't mean it can't be improved." Shuri says. I feel like that must be the motto for her whole life.

"You are teaching me? What do you know?" He says, placing the beads in her hand.

"More than you." She says walking away.

"I can't wait to see what kind of update you make to your ceremonial outfit!" He shouts, earning him a middle finger from his little sister.

The queen scolds her daughter, which makes Shuri apologize quickly, but I can tell she doesn't mean it.

Looking back to T'Challa, I grab his arm, saying sincerely to him and his mother. "I want to thank you both again for inviting Alex and I to the ceremony."

Queen Ramonda touches my face gently. "Think nothing of it, my dear."

I push some of my hair away, smirking at T'Challa and gesturing to his suit. "Will you be wearing this?"

"You've spent way too much time with my sister," he says with a roll of his eyes. "You'll just have to wait till tomorrow."

"I'll see you then." I say, smiling again before walking after Shuri. She waited for me at the door, excitement filling her young eyes. Once I reach her, she links her arm around mine.

"You have to get an outfit for tomorrow, something fitting for the ceremony."

I look over at her, raising a brow. "Will you help me pick something out that's appropriate?"

She nods, smiling widely. "I was hoping you would ask."

-

**Alex**

It's like the universe itself knows that today is a day of celebration: the sun is shining, the birds are flying majestically over the water, and the green and yellow trees practically sing in the wind. Everyone rides in beautiful boats down the river, towards where the ceremony will take place over a waterfall. It's like a painted picture, one that we get to be apart of.

The warriors and royals from every tribe have smiles on their faces, dancing to the drums being played in each boat. Soroya and I are in the same boat as T'Challa's mother and sister. They are in the back of the boat dancing to the beat of the drummers.

Soroya is wearing an outfit the princess gave her: a long red skirt with a matching red blouse that shows a bit of her stomach. Beautiful gold beads wrap around her neck and shoulders, much like the outfit the princess wears herself. The princess also braided Soroya's hair, which drapes down her shoulder. T'Challa was kind enough to lend me an outfit: a green pair of pants with matching shirt. The shirt has no sleeves and is cut downward in a 'v' shape, so it shows much of my chest. I have to admit, as much as I didn't want to come here, I am beginning to enjoy myself.

I look over at Soroya, watching one of the warriors come up to her and offer to dance, which she agrees to enthusiastically. The man begins to do a unique dance that mimics the Queen mother and princess. Soroya quickly gets the hang out it. I can tell this is already the highlight of her day. I love seeing how lit up her eyes get anytime she dances.

The general says something in Xhosa and the waterfall itself begins to stop its flow, revealing a cliff side over looking the beautiful sunrise. As the boats reach it, the warriors and guards help everyone get off the boats, beginning to descend down the cliff. Princess Shuri helps guide Soroya and I down, insisting we stand with her and her mother. When we make it to the bottom level of the cliff, we wait patiently as the other royals begin to climb down as well. The warriors of each tribe, including the Dora Milaje, stand near us on the other cliff level. Now all we need is the man of the hour.

One of the jets begins to descend to the water, hovering as the steps begin to lower. Shuri smiles at my sister, who looks awed by the spectacle we find ourselves in. I can't blame her, it truly is something. As T'Challa walks down the steps, the people on the cliff begin to chant, but I have no clue what they're saying.

T'Challa has paint on his bare chest and his face depicting a panther. He carries a spear and a shield, walking towards an old man in the water. He is painted in black stripes and orange dots, covered in heavy purple fabric. He smiles to T'Challa before turning to the rest of us.

"I, Zuri son of Badu, give to you: Prince T'Challa, the Black Panther."

The crowd cheers as T'Chall brings his shield and spear up, crossing them in the air, just like Wakandans usually do with their arms. He then kneels down to the ground, his weapons beside him.

Zuri holds up a small cup, now saying: "The prince will now have the strength of the Black Panther stripped away." He brings the cup down to T'Challa's mouth. Soroya and I watch in concern as T'Challa's veins bulge and a look of pain goes over his face.

Soroya looks to Shuri, but the princess looks down at her feet, her arms crossed over her chest as she dances in place like the rest of her people.

T'Challa stands back up after a moment, looking a bit tired, but for the most part back to normal.

Zuri speaks something in Xhosa that the rest of the crowd repeats, before saying in English: "Victory in ritual combat comes by yield or death. If any tribe wishes to put forth a warrior...I now offer a path to the throne."

I see Soroya tense up, but she slowly starts to relax as the different tribes each say they will not challenge the throne today. When Zuri asks again if any royal blood would like to challenge the throne, Shuri raises her hand, but says with a laugh: "This corset is really uncomfortable so could we all just wrap it up and go home?"

The queen pinches her daughter's arm and Soroya sends her a glare. I look back at T'Challa, who only looks amused.

This amusement fades however, as the sound of grunting and chanting comes from the other side of the cliff. Emerging from a small opening comes six men covered in white paint, wearing long skirts of grass and carrying wooden spears. The man leading these men is wearing a wooden gorilla mask.

"Are they Jabari?" Shuri asks her mother, who whispers 'yes' in a voice of shock and horror.

My head jerks to the two of them at the mention of the Jabari. I search the faces of the men in the water, finding Khari standing there: his face tortured and pained, like he is in the last place he wants to be.

"M'Baku, what are you doing here?" Zuri asks the gorilla masked man.

He takes his mask off, looking between the prince and Zuri. "It's challenge day," he says, turning to the crowd. "We have watched and listened from the mountains! We have watched with disgust as your technological advancements have been overseen by a child, who scoffs at tradition!" He points aggressively at Shuri.

The queen and Soroya both grab onto Shuri as a form of protection, but my attention is completely focused on Khari. Throughout this speech, he has stood and listened to his leader spout the dividing ideals he fights against so hard.

"And now you want to hand the nation over to this prince," M'Baku says, turning back to T'Challa. "Who could not keep his own father safe."

I watch Khari flinch at that last part. I feel a deep hatred for M'Baku for blaming King T'Chaka's death on his son. I know better than anyone that T'Challa already blames himself everyday. That comment was uncalled for.

"We will not have it. I said we will not have it! I, M'Baku leader of the Jabari—"

"I accept your challenge, M'Baku." T'Challa says, a look of calmness on his face. I bet it is becoming a struggle to maintain such composure.

M'Baku's smugness grows. "Glory to Hanuman." He says, before preparing for the fight. The drummers begin to play as M'Baku places his gorilla mask back on. Zuri places a similar mask over T'Challa, but instead of a gorilla it's a panther.

M'Baku says something to his men and all six of them bring their spears out, forming a half circle in the water and pointing their weapons at the two leaders. T'Challa yells for the Dora Milaje, who form the other half of the circle, aiming their spears as well. Khari's face shows nothing but anger and frustration, looking like he's trapped. I know how that feels. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It makes me want to take him away from this situation, because I for some reason want to see that smile return to his face.

I ignore that urge though, because he chose the life of a warrior and now he must live with those duties. I think he is telling himself the same thing in his head, watching the fight begin to ensue.

M'Baku, who is wielding a large hammer looking weapon, swings it at T'Challa's head. He blocks it with his shield, swinging it again and again. T'Challa summersaults backwards and pushes himself back onto his feet, hitting his spear against M'Baku's hammer. M'Baku manages to get a hit in, sending T'Challa down to the ground.

Shuri and the queen tense up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Soroya link her hands with Shuri, trying to comfort her the best she can. I can see how worried Soroya is, how much she sympathizes with what Shuri's going through. I can as well. No one can understand the pain of watching your sibling in danger more than Soroya and I.

T'Challa gets back up, his face filled with determination. The Dora Milaje and Jabari close in on the two, giving them less room to fight in. T'Challa kicks at M'Baku's chest, sending the brute down to the ground. He gets back up quickly, swinging his hammer more violently, missing him almost every time. He manages to hit T'Challa hard in the side, sending him crashing down, his mask flying off and his weapons hidden in the water.

"Where is your god now?" M'Baku taunts, but T'Challa grabs onto M'Baku's spear, pulling it forward and kicking him him in the chest.

The Jabari and Dora Milaje move closer as the two continue to fight. T'Challa is doing exceptionally well since he has no weapons; he gets in several punches, even managing to knock M'Baku temporarily down. But M'Baku means war; he jumps back up with a yell, wrapping his hammer around T'Challa's back. He holds him in tight grip, head budding him several times.

"No powers! No claws! No special suit! Just a boy not fit to lead!" M'Baku shouts as T'Challa grows visibly exhausted.

Queen Ramonda shouts to her son: "Show him who you are!" And this is enough for T'Challa to whip his head back, hitting M'Baku in the face several times with his fist. T'Challa brings M'Baku's face down to bash into his knee, sending M'Baku staggering back his mask now off.

Soroya grabs onto my hand as the end of M'Baku's hammer jams into T'Challa's shoulder. But this only seems to give the young prince more strength. "I am prince T'Challa son of King T'Chaka!"

"You can do this, T'Challa!" Shuri yells, gripping my sister's other hand tighter.

T'Challa grabs onto the hammer, bringing it down and breaking it over his knee, kicking M'Baku on the chest. He wraps his legs around M'Baku's neck, holding him in a choke hold over the edge of the waterfall.

The Jabari and Dora Milaje are so close to the two leaders now that I can only see them through the warriors's legs. However we can all can hear T'Challa shout: "Don't make me kill you!"

The crowd is chanting T'Challa's name, and it isn't long until my sister begins doing it to. I continue to glance back and forth between the two leaders and then Khari, who looks tense and scared for his leader's life.

"You have fought with honor, now yield! Your people need you. Yield, man!"

Slowly, M'Baku taps on T'Challa's leg and the prince releases him.

Shuri turns to Soroya and the two enthusiastically hug, jumping up and down, cheering for T'Challa's victory. The crowd joins in with their cheers as T'Calla stands up, holding his hand high in victory.

Khari is the first to grab onto M'Baku and help him up. Despite all the horrible things that man had said, Khari looks genuinely happy to see him safe. He wraps his leader's arm around his shoulders and helps him walk out of the water, the other Jabari in tow.

The Dora Milaje hold their spears up high, and all the Wakandans cheer loudly as Zuri announces: "I now present to you: King T'Challa, the Black Panther!" He brings a necklace over to him, placing it around the new King's neck, bringing him in for a hug.

T'Challa turns to all of us, smiling at his mother and sister, as well as Soroya and me.

King T'Challa places his arms over his chest and shouts: "Wakanda Forever!" Smiling as the crowd repeats it back, erupting into applause and cheers once more.


	7. Prove Me Wrong

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Soroya went back to the palace with Shuri, mumbling to me that the princess was forcing her to watch a movie called 'Avatar'. I told her to have fun with that as the princess pulled my sister away to take her to her torture.

I felt tempted to go back into the palace and stay in my room, but deep inside I knew where I wanted to go. Where I said I would go. With a slight shake of my head, I walk towards the tree line, towards the mountain area of Wakanda.

After maybe fifteen minutes of walking, I find Khari sitting on the log we were at yesterday. His white paint is still on from earlier, but some of it has faded due to the water. He is still wearing the grass skirt, but his chest is covered with the same leather breastplate I've seen him wear before.

As I approach, he looks up to me, then to the outfit I'm wearing. He smiles sadly. "You were there today?"

I nod, sitting down next to him, waiting for him to speak again. I can see how sad today has made him. It makes me wonder why I feel pity for this man I barely know.

"M'Baku is a good man. I know he didn't seem like it today, but he's a respectful and generous leader. He only said those things because he thinks our way of life is better for everyone. He has good intentions."

"His behavior was barbaric. The way he taunted T'Challa about his father was inexcusable, how can you defend him?"

"He's my leader and my friend. You have only just met him today, you can't be too quick to judge."

"That goes for you too then," I say, but this comment makes Khari confused. "You've seemed nice so far but I've only just met you. Perhaps I've been to quick to judge you. Perhaps you're no better than M'Baku."

I can see the hurt go across Khari's face. I have to look away, not knowing what I'd say if I look into those hazel eyes any longer.

"Why do you act like that?"

I force myself to turn back to him, but I avoid his gaze. "Like what?"

"Like everyone you meet has some vendetta against you."

"Because from my experience, everyone does."

"Just because you have had a run in with several cruel people in your life doesn't mean you have to treat others prematurely with aggression." Khari says defensively. I am reminded of when Soroya acted the same way when I accused her of being in league with HYDRA. Those two really are alike.

"Assuming everyone is out to get me is what's kept me alive this long. And even before that, it's what's kept me from getting hurt."

"Getting hurt is apart of life. If you keep pushing people away then you'll be all alone in life."

I shrug. "I've never minded being alone."

Khari's face softens and the anger fades. "Yes, you do. You just find it easier than opening up to someone."

I let out a noise of exasperation. "And Sigmund Freud is back at it again! I'm sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy you interpreting their every word, but I'm not one of those people."

Khari looks slightly annoyed. "If you took a step back and looked for a moment you might realize that I'm not someone whose out to get you. I'm someone whose trying to help you."

"I don't need your help." I say stiffly, standing up off the log.

"Yes, you do. You're just too proud and too scared to admit it," He says, not caring that my back is turned to him. "You know you would be surprised how many people could care about you. If only you would allow them to."

"Who? Like you?"

I turn around and find that Khari is standing up as well, looking at me very seriously. "Yes, like me."

"I believe that less than anything. I've been nothing but rude to you, why the hell do you care about me? And if you say it's because I have a pure soul, I will jam the oversized toothpick someplace it will hurt."

Khari ignores my remark, and to my surprise, shrugs. "I don't know why. I just do."

"That's a horrible answer."

"It's the truth."

I shake my head, beginning to walk away. "I don't have time for your psychoanalysis. I have to get back to my sister."

"What if I could prove it to you?"

I turn back towards him, watching he takes a step forward. "I can prove to you that not everyone in the world is full of hatred and selfishness. Will you come with me somewhere tomorrow?"

"Where?"

"Jabariland."

"Why would I go to Jabariland with you?"

"Because part of you deep down wants to be proven wrong," he says, adding on after a moment. "And I can tell you're curious to see if I'm a lunatic or not."

Fair point. "Alright, fine. When do I meet you?"

Khari smiles widely. I actively ignore the butterflies in my stomach. "Here at noon, come alone."

"I thought we established I'm always alone." I say snidely, walking back towards the trees. I have no idea why I came here today, or why I just agreed to come back and see him tomorrow. He's right, part of me wants to be proven wrong. Part of me wants people to be as good as Khari and Soroya believe. But a larger part of me knows its better not to get my hopes to high and get hurt in the process.

-

**Soroya**

"What do you think of it so far?" Shuri asks. The two of us are sitting on a couch in her room, watching a movie called 'Avatar' that came out about eight years ago.

"It's good. I like the blue woman with the bow."

Shuri raises her eyebrows at me. "Neytiri?"

"Yeah, her. I like how she slowly grows to trust Jake; finding out he isn't evil like the other humans. It reminds me of..."

"Of you and Sergeant Barnes?" Shuri shifts in her seat, turning to me with her curiosity blossoming to new heights. She clicks the button on the remote to lower the volume on the screen. "What's between the two of you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. I was there when he was put under cryo. I heard the way he spoke about you. I now hear the way you speak about him. There's also the fact you come and visit him every single day. Are you two together?"

I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear as I shake my head, feeling a blush form on my cheeks. "No, we're just friends," I tell her, but she doesn't buy this for a moment. Letting out a sigh, I add onto my last statement: "Or we used to be just friends. I don't know what we are now. Before he left he wrote me note telling me that he had feelings for me."

"And do you have feelings for him?"

I nod. "Yes. I've known that for a long time. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out why I never told him. I honestly have no idea. In the letter he said he didn't tell me he loved me because he thought he didn't deserve me. But that's not how I feel. I think he's the greatest man I've ever met. He deserves the world. It isn't like me to hold back how I feel. I've come up with no answers as to why I never told him I love him, too."

Shuri sits there in contemplation before looking back over to me, asking: "When did HYDRA take you again?"

"When I was twelve."

"Well that's why! You have zero experience with romantic feelings and relationships. You have the experience and knowledge of a twelve year old! Oh my god...do you even know what sex is?"

I feel my face become a tomato. "Of course I know what sex is!" I hiss at her.

"But do you know how to—"

"Yes, I know how to! I wasn't kept in a box for fourteen years. I went on missions, I did plenty of stakeouts on adults, and I wasn't the only prisoner in my base. So yes, I know how all that works."

"But even with that being the case, you still have no idea what to do with your feelings or how to be in a relationship. It's totally normal that you would be scared and reluctant to share. Do you think you want a relationship?"

I let out a small chuckle, shaking my head. "I don't even know if that's what he wants. But I don't know, I never thought I would have a chance to have a relationship. It's just so strange having options now."

"Options?"

"For so long my life was about survival and keeping my family safe. Now, I'm here in this peaceful place, and I have a say in what the rest of my life looks like. I have no idea what I want it to look like."

"You know I became the head of science and technology for Wakanda when I was twelve? I used to tinker around with different objects as a child, but then I got more and more advanced. When I was offered the position, I knew that for the rest of my life I would be in charge of helping my country and keeping them safe. If I picked this job, there wasn't any going back. That was a lot of handle, a very big decision to make. But my mother told me that if it felt right, then I should do it. I haven't regretted it a single day since. You just have to find something that feels right for you. Maybe you should take this time you have to try out new things and see what feels right."

I smile at the young girl. She is so often underestimated, she doesn't get enough credit for her wisdom beyond the technological. "You're a good friend, Shuri."

She smiles at me, turning the volume back up on the movie. "But going on a path of self discovery doesn't mean you are free from finishing this list!"

I roll my eyes. "I know, I know." I say, turning my attention back to the screen, my mind lingering on Bucky for the remainder of the movie's run time.


	8. New Toys

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"You ready to give up yet?" Okoye asks, hitting me in the shin with her spear, getting a curse to slip through my lips.

I blow a piece of my hair from my face, lunging at her and managing to hit her hard in the thigh. "Not a chance." I say, deflecting another blow from her. She smiles at me, kneeing me in the stomach and pushing me down to the ground with the end of her spear.

I use my spear to hit hers away, pushing her back with my legs and jumping back onto my feet. She swings again but I meet her spear in between us. I use all my strength to push my spear off hers, using her temporary lack of focus to hit her in the side with the butt of my spear. With a crouch to the floor, I swipe my spear and knock her down to the ground, pointing the end at her face.

"I win." I say, trying to catch my breath.

"You won nothing. It was just luck." I extend my hand out to her and she grabs it, grunting as I help her up.

"Luck or no luck I still beat you." I say with a slightly smug smile.

"For such a sweet person," Okoye says with a small smile. "You certainly are a sore winner."

The commander of the Dora Milaje walks in, coming up to us and whispering something in the general's ear. She nods to her commander, telling her she will take care of it. With a nod in my direction, the woman disappears. Okoye brings out her bracelet, one identical to Shuri's, and taps on it a few times.

Appearing from the beads is a projection of T'Challa, with Okoye's husband W'Kabi right next to him. "My king, my love," she says, looking between both of them. "You will never guess who just popped up on our radar. You both should come back to the palace."

The two men look at each other, then back to Okoye. "We will be right there." T'Challa says, before his image fades away and Okoye lowers her wrist.

"What's going on?" I ask, watching at Okoye makes her way towards the door.

"An important Wakandan matter has arisen. I need to alert the council members and tell them to meet here."

I grab onto Okoye's wrist, forcing her to focus her attention back on me. "How can I help?" I ask.

Okoye contemplates this for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Alert the queen mother and send a message to the River Tribe."

I nod to her, not wasting a second before running out the door, with Okoye only waiting a moment longer before doing the same.

-

"A misidentified Wakandan artifact was stolen yesterday from a British museum. We have learned that Ulysses Klaue plans to sell the vibranium to an American buyer in South Korea tomorrow night." Okoye says, clicking off her bracelet. Moments before had been projecting the image of Klaue for the whole council to see. He is much older than I would have thought, with a crazed look in his eyes that unsettles me to my core.

Okoye sits back down in her seat, which is directly across from T'Challa's throne. Her husband W'Kabi is sitting next to him, sending glares my way as I stand by his wife.

"Klaue has escaped our pursuits for almost thirty years," T'Challa says, his voice firm and strong. "Not capturing him is, perhaps, my father's greatest regret. I wish to bring Klaue back here to stand trial."

The leader of the Merchant tribe shakes her head. "Wakanda does not need a warrior right now. We need a king."

W'Kabi then chips in, saying: "My parents were killed when he attacked," earning a deep pity from me and a look of compassion that I don't think is welcome. "Not a day goes by when I do not think about what Klaue took from us. From me."

Okoye looks to T'Challa. "It's too great an opportunity to pass."

T'Challa stares at her for a moment before looking back at W'Kabi, who says: "Take me with you. We'll take him down together, side by side."

T'Challa smiles at his friend, but shakes his head. "I need you here protecting the border."

W'Kabi looks disappointed, but he accepts his King's wishes. "Then I ask: you kill him where he stands or you bring him back to us?"

T'Challa gives him a look of reassurance. "You have my word; we will bring him back. We will proceed with the mission."

"Your highness?" I ask, stopping T'Challa as he begins to stands up. He looks at me with a smile, already knowing what I'm going to ask him. "I want to offer my services and come with you on this mission."

W'Kabi looks to T'Challa in disgust. "She's an outsider. She has no business interfering in our business."

"She's not interfering, she's offering to help," T'Challa says, looking back at me and giving me a very serious look. "I would love to have you join us, but you came here for some well deserved peace and safety. Are you sure you want to return to the chaos and danger you were forced to live with for so many years?"

I look from T'Challa to Okoye, who smiles up at me. "I am sure, your highness. I am grateful for your protection and care for me and my brother. I feel there is no better way to show you my gratitude, than helping you bring back the man who has caused you and your country so much hardship."

Okoye stands, looking around to the other council members, especially her husband. "She is a skilled warrior, an honorable one at that. She is trustworthy with our business. Outsider or not."

It is a big deal for her to vouch for me like that. I try to show her my gratitude with the smile I give her. T'Challa seems to fully agree with her, so he nods his head to me and Okoye.

As the king gets out of his chair, he ushers me towards the door, leaning his mouth close to my ear. "I was hoping you would join us."

I smile at the king. "I do want to help, but I also need to decide for myself if I want a life of comfort and safety, or of danger."

"That's a big decision to make."

"And the kindness you and the General just showed makes things much easier." I say, watching him lead me towards the front entrance of the palace.

"Where are we going?" I ask him, watching one of his jets open up and the stairs descend to the floor.

"Shuri has made some new toys for us to take on our mission, as well as a new suit for myself. I also heard her say she has something for you and Alex."

I can't help the smile that goes over my face. T'Challa shares in my excitement, linking his arm with mine, walking side by side towards the jet.

-

T'Challa and I walk through the lab together, with the Dora Milaje standing at attention beside us. Shuri is standing at the entrance of the lab to greet her older brother, playfully bows upon seeing him. "My King." She says with a chuckle.

He waves her off. "Stop it. Stop it." He says, connecting his hand with hers and doing what seems to be a secret handshake.

Shuri winks at me as we walk down the stairs towards her main lab. I can't help but roll my eyes.

"I've already sent a car ahead to Busan for you," She says as we walk past several other scientists and engineers, who all nod their heads to me in acknowledgement. "Who are you taking with you to Korea?"

"Okoye, Soroya, and Nakia as well." T'Challa says, glancing my direction.

Shuri gives me a look of excitement. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Thank god I finished your suit in ti...wait did you say Nakia was going to? You sure it's a good idea to take your ex on a mission?" She says with mild amusement and concern.

"Yes," He assures his sister, but it doesn't do much, so he adds: "We'll be fine. Besides, you'll be on call should we need backup."

"And I'll keep him safe, I promise." I tell Shuri, who no longer seems to be worrying about her brother, but is just excited to be included in the action. She shoots me a look of appreciation nonetheless.

"I have great things to show you both," she says as we come around the corner to her main working area. "Here are your communication devices for Korea," She says gesturing to a small round box. T'Challa pockets the box, following his sister as she continues to walk. "They have unlimited range, also equipped with audio surveillance system. Oh, check these out!" She holds up a small round object, explaining: "These are remote Kimoyo Beads, updated to interface directly with my stand table."

T'Challa looks around impressed. An item on the table next to this one grabs his attention. He walks over towards it. "And what are these?"

His sister replies: "The real question is: what are those!" She shouts, making T'Challa chuckle. It seems to be a joke, but I have no idea what it means. "Why do you have your toes out in my lab?"

"What? You don't like my royal sandals?" He asks, placing them on the chair to display to everyone. "I wanted to go old school for my first day."

"I think they look great on you." I tell T'Challa, but Shuri simply rolls her eyes.

"I bet the elders loved that," she says, and I can't help but elbow her in the side. She looks back at me and adds: "You would think as king he would dress better."

"Not everyone can have the great fashion sense you do." I tell her, to which she nods in agreement.

She takes the item T'Challa was so enamored with and sets them down on the ground. "Try them on." She says, and I watch as the two flat objects form a shoe around T'Challa's feet. I can't help but mutter: "That's amazing."

Shuri has a look of self pride in her eyes that's totally earned. "Fully automated, like the old American movie Baba used to watch."

That reference sounds familiar, and in excitement I say: "Oh! Back to the Future II?"

Both siblings look at me with raised brows. I shrug my shoulders. "You've been bombarding me with things from the 21st century, I am just happy I get at least one reference you say."

Shuri gives me a look of sympathy before looking back at the shoes. "They're also completely sound absorbent."

T'Challa stomps his feet on the ground and no sound comes from it. "Interesting." He murmurs, and I have to agree with him.

"Guess what I call them? Sneakers." She says. T'Challa and I share a look of judgement at her terrible pun. She sees our shared nonverbal exchange and tries to backtrack. "Because you...never mind." She gives up, walking towards another part of her lab. T'Challa and I follow her, sharing another look of amusement.

"If you are going to take on Klaue," she says, her voice getting excited again. "You'll need the best the design group has to offer. Exhibit A—"

"My design."

"Old tech."

T'Challa looks at her offended. "Old?"

"Functional, but old. 'Hey people are shooting at me! Wait, let me put on my helmet!'" She mocks with a chuckle.

"Enough." He says, only slightly sharing her amusement.

"Now, look at these," she says, gesturing to the two mannequins. One has a golden claw necklace and the other silver. "You like that one?" She asks her brother, gesturing to the gold one.

"Tempting," He says, turning back towards her. "But the idea is not to be noticed. This one." He says, gesturing to the silver clawed necklace

Shuri lifts her bracelet up to her brother's neck and I watch as the beads glow purple. We both look at her in confusion, but she ignores us. "Now tell it to go on."

Without having to say a word, out from the necklace, a beautiful dark suit, almost identical to the old one, fills the rest of the mannequin. Shuri is definitely feeling proud of herself. "The entire suit sits within the teeth of the necklace. Now strike it." She orders to her brother.

"Anywhere?"

She nods, and the two of us step back to give him some room. He twists his body and kicks the mannequin across the room, sending Shuri into a frenzy. "Not that hard, genius!" She shouts. I push my hair away from my face, stifling a chuckle.

T'Challa shrugs. "You told me to strike it anywhere, you didn't say how hard." He says in his defense. I elbow him in the side, trying to give him crap but finding this too funny to truly achieve my goal.

Shuri drags the mannequin back, scolding the both of us. "I invite you to my lab and you just kick things around? And you! You're my friend, why are you finding this amusing?"

"It's because I'm your friend I find this amusing." I explain to her, earning a glare.

"Maybe you should make it a little stronger." T'Challa adds, cutting himself off from picking fun at her anymore. He's starring at the middle of the suit, where a blue glow is now in the place T'Challa had kicked. "Wait a minute."

"The nanites absorb the kinetic energy and hold it in place for redistribution," she says, tapping on her bracelet and stepping back. "Strike it again in the same spot."

T'Challa and I look back at her. "You're recording?" He asks.

Shuri gives him a look of doe eyed innocence. "For research purposes. I would step back if I were you, Soroya." She comments, pulling on my arm and bringing me to her side.

T'Challa kicks the suit again, but this time he is the one that gets sent flying across the room. Both Shuri and I are left laughing hysterically. "Delete that footage!" He says, getting back up onto his feet with a grunt.

Shuri ignores her brother's wishes, turning her attention to me. "Now, for your suit I have some surprises as well," she says, leading me to the other side of the lab, where another mannequin lies. Just like with T'Challa's suit, the only thing on the mannequin is a necklace, although mine is a golden pair of wings instead of claws. Shuri brings her bracelet up to my head and tells me to tell the suit to activate. I say it in my head, then appearing from the necklace is a teal blue suit. A copper looking material is on it, designed so it points down like arrows stacked on top of each other. These arrows go down the middle of the chest, as well as on the sides of the arms and legs. The suit goes right up to the collar bone and fully covers the hands and feet. It's breathtaking.

I tuck my hair behind my ears, turning to Shuri, utterly speechless. "Shuri...its-its beautiful."

She smiles at me, looking at her work with pride. "It is made of vibranium just like T'Challa's, but I thought a different color would suit you better. It's bullet proof. It's a much thinner material, allowing you to change into any form you want. The suit will stretch and shrink to your needs and will become invisible upon shifting. Oh and the best part; the designs are made from copper mixed with my nanite technology, so while you shift the suit will numb your nerves so you won't feel any pain when you shift. Anything you wear under the suit won't be ripped either, which is an added bonus."

I pull Shuri in for a hug, genuinely feeling gratitude for the pain and time she is saving me from. Shuri pulls back from me, gesturing to the suit again. "I have your brother's made as well. I am keeping it safe until he needs it. I assume he's not going on the mission, too?"

I shake my head. "No, absolutely not," I say, knowing how exciting he'd find these new suits. "But, I will have him come here shortly to pick his up. And thank you, Shuri really, for all of this."

She smiles. "No problem. Now go, get some sleep. You're in for a long flight tomorrow," She says, leaning forward. "And just so you know, T'Challa usually sleeps on the jet and he snores like a pig."

"I heard that!" T'Challa yells, making the two of us erupt into laughter.


	9. The Young Lion

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

I lay on Soroya's bed, trying to understand why anyone would find a movie like 'Step Up' entertaining. It does have dancing in it, and an exceptionally attractive man, so I guess that's enough to get people to enjoy it. Especially my sister. I would probably enjoy it more if I didn't walk in when it was already half way through the movie.

Soroya opens the door to her bathroom and comes out wearing a long dark red dress. It reaches her ankles and the sleeves go down to her wrists. The dress hugs her at the hips but flows more as it goes down, with a slit running from just above her knee to her ankles where the dress ends. The dress has a high neckline, covering most of her neck. As she walks towards me and gives me a twirl, I see that the back is partially open.

"Well well well, Vivian Ward don't you look stunning." I say in German, genuinely smiling at my sister. We only speak in our native language when we were alone. Every time we do it felt good, almost relaxing.

I know she feels the same way, like it is a small string that connects us to a life we have long left behind. Soroya rolls her eyes, responding to me in German as well. "Why are you comparing me to a prostitute?"

"A beautiful prostitute," I correct her. "But in all seriousness you look great."

She tucks her hair behind her ears, smiling at me. "I mean it doesn't really matter how I look, I just need to wear this to blend in. But I do have to admit that wearing a dress again does feel good."

"Yeah, I remember you loved wearing dresses so much as a kid you would even wear them in the winter time. God, like that stupid lady bug dress."

She points a warning finger at me. "Don't bring the lady bug dress into this!"

"You wore that thing so much it could probably stand on its own."

"Oh stop it! I was like five years old, you seriously still hanging that over my head?"

I shrug. "I'm your brother. It's my job to hang things over your head."

Her smile fades and concern etches her features. "I don't like the thought of leaving you here."

I swing my legs off the bed, walking over towards her and rubbing my hands over her arms. "I'll be fine. I can handle my abilities better now. I'm not the invalid I once was."

"I know that, it's not that I don't think you can handle yourself...it's just this is the first time I'll be without you since I got you back. I hate the thought of being away from you."

I pull Soroya in for a hug, resting my head on top of hers. I remember what I told Khari; that opening myself up to anyone would lead to me getting hurt. I do believe that, but that has never and will never apply to my sister. I think Khari is insane for thinking my soul is the purest he's ever seen, because I've seen Soroya's, and she has the purest soul out there.

When she pulls back I see that she's crying. With a soft chuckle, I wipe away her tears. "It's only for a day or two. I think we will both survive."

She nods, rubbing at her eyes. "Just promise me you will be careful while I'm gone. And please go see Shuri and get your suit, it's very important."

I nod. "I will, I promise," I look over at her nightstand and see the clock, looking back at her with a sigh. "You need to get some sleep. You guys are leaving really early in the morning."

She nods, pulling me in for another quick hug. "I love you, Alex." She mumbles into my chest.

I squeeze her tightly, rubbing her arms again. "I love you, too," I whisper, pulling back and wiping her cheek again. As I begin walking towards the door, I look back at her and give her a wink. "Kick some ass tomorrow."

She nods to me, smiling widely. "I will."

As I shut her bedroom door, it finally hits me how much I'll miss her too. She may only be gone for a day or two, but we haven't been separated at all in two years...after not seeing each other for fourteen years. I'm being silly. I shouldn't be upset over a day of separation. I'm thirty years old and I refuse to cry over my baby sister going away. I won't do it.

Determined not to let my emotions get the best of me, I walk into my room and turn on the radio, making sure not to have the sound too loud. The song that comes on is 'I Want to Break Free' by Queen. I focus on Freddie Mercury's voice as I lay down in bed, ignoring the tears that threaten to fall from my own eyes. I shut them tightly, eventually drifting off into a deep sleep.

-

Around lunch time I make my way out of the palace, thankful that my sister didn't post guards at my door and order them to follow me around. I wouldn't put it past her. I think the thought of doing so did cross her mind.

After several minutes of walking, I find Khari sitting on the log in our usual spot. Upon seeing me, he smiles.

"Thank you for coming." He says standing up.

"Is this the part where you murder me with your toothpick?"

"As tempting at that sometimes is, no. Now come on, we have things to do today." He says, walking further into the forest, gesturing for me to follow.

Call it curiosity or stupidity, but I follow after him. As we walk through the rest of the trees, Khari asks something that I'm sure has been on his mind for days.

"Why can you turn into animals?" He asks.

That was something I was willing to tell him. After all I would want to know that answer as well if I were in his shoes. "I was injected with a serum when I was a child. It allows me to shapeshift."

"Into any animal?"

"Ones with vertebrates, yes."

"Is it painful?"

I nod curtly. "Yes...but not as much as it used to."

A look of despair goes over Khari's face; like somehow he feels the pain I speak of. "You spoke of your sister...can she do the same?"

Now we are entering into dangerous territory, but I nod. "Yes, she can. She's better at it than I am, more trained."

Khari is silent for a moment before saying: "The people who gave you this serum...they're the reason why you are so angry at the world."

I don't answer, but I feel like I don't have to. Khari continues, asking: "Who were they?"

My mouth opens before my brain can stop it. "HYDRA. They were a Russian based terrorist regime."

For really the first time since I've met him, Khari looks angry. "Were? So they're gone now?"

I nod, really not wanting to talk about it anymore. Khari senses this and drops the topic. He instead fills the rest of the walk with telling me about himself.

"I became a soldier when I was only seventeen, which is pretty young for the Jabari. I was so excited at the aspect of helping my people. I knew I didn't want to do anything else. I was named Commander when I was twenty three, which is the youngest ever."

I can't help but feel impressed. "You're a Commander?"

Khari nods. "That's why I had to attend challenge day with M'Baku...all highest ranking officials of Jabariland have to attend."

"You said you were twenty three when you became a commander? How old are you now?"

"Twenty eight. Why, do I not look it?"

"No, but you act older than twenty eight."

Khari takes this as a compliment. "You must be around my age, yes?"

"I'm thirty. You're actually my sister's age."

"I'll have to meet her someday. She sounds wonderful."

I smile, this time I'm in full agreement with him. "She truly is." I say. Khari seems taken aback by my sincerity.

We reach the end of the tree line and are met with the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen. Khari relishes in my awe, tugging me along. There's a path that leads up the mountain side, but Khari steers me away from there, explaining: "If we go there the guards will catch us and we'll both be in trouble. I have another way." He says, leading me towards the other side of the mountain.

It is much colder near the mountains than it is in the rest of Wakanda. It's like I've just entered into another planet. It makes sense why Khari wears those furs all the time.

He presses his hand against the smooth rock, pushing hard against the surface. The piece of the mountain seems to go in, like a button. I hear a rumble and a small door opens inside the mountain. Khari gestures for me to go inside.

Shaking my head at myself, I walk in, finding that a long pathway leading up is lit by torches. With Khari in the lead, we both go up the path. When we reach the top, I am hit with the same wonder I was when I first came to Wakanda.

Jabariland is beautiful. Wooden bridges stretch between the mountains, connecting beautiful wooden buildings all lit by blazing torches like the ones in the path. The glass for the windows in each building reflect the light off the torches and almost make the whole civilization look like a city.

It's a thousand times colder in Jabariland than it was down at the bottom of the mountain. Khari notices my shivering and wraps his cloak around my shoulders. I hate myself for blushing.

"Come on, its just through here." Khari says, grabbing onto my arm and leading me towards a small building just a few yards away. It doesn't look like the other buildings, this one looks more like a home. It's made of wood like the others and has the same torches and windows, but the home itself is built into the mountain. As we enter in, I see that one wall and half the ceiling are entirely made of the mountain's rock.

I expected everyone in the room is gawk at me or send me glares, since it was more than obvious ever I was an outsider. This was how the Wakandan's first treated us when Soroya and I arrived here. But they don't, in fact, they all smile at me.

They smile even wider at Khari. He turns to me and gestures for me to sit down. I do as he says, feeling oddly comforted in the tree trunk stool I sit upon. Khari makes his way through the other people in the room, probably thirty or so, who all try to grab hold of his hand or arm as he passes them. They look at him like he's some sort of king or god.

He makes it to the front of the room, and he has the natural air of a leader. "I know we are meeting today instead of normal, but things have been chaotic since challenge day."

"How is the man-ape?" A woman asks. I can only conclude she means M'Baku.

"His pride is wounded, but he will be fine."

"Did you truly try to reason with him?" An older man asks.

"Of course I did. Don't worry, I did not mention our secret meetings. I did say that the way to unite our people isn't through violence and blood shed, but he is too proud to admit to being wrong."

"Is it too late? Has the man-ape damaged the bonds of our country enough that there's no hope?"

Khari shakes his head, smiling at the young woman who had asked the question in a worried tone. "There's always hope. We once all lived together in harmony, all of Wakanda, and I know that soon we will live that way again," Khari says, his voice rising in volume. "All of us here know what's right, we know what we believe in, what we fight for. As long as we stand here, there is hope for a better future! For a better Wakanda!"

The people erupt in applause and cheers, shouting something in Xhosa I don't understand. As the people continue to chant the same phrase, I lean over to the person next to me, asking for a translation.

The man is happy to oblige me. "We are calling him: 'The Young Lion', because of his bravery and strength."

Khari and I lock gazes. He opens his arms, almost as a way of saying 'I told you so'. I have to admit it was quite the group of people. I always thought Khari was just a man with idealistic beliefs, but he's better than that; he's a man who fight for those beliefs. Just like Soroya.

Khari isn't just a dreamer. I watch him look around at his people and smile widely, I realize that I was in the presence of a revolutionist. And for perhaps the first time, that didn't make me want to roll my eyes or scoff. It made me believe, just for a second, that maybe The Young Lion wasn't so crazy after all.


	10. South Korea

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I did as Shuri asked and listened to Beyoncé on the flight to South Korea. I think her voice is lovely and I enjoyed most of her songs. Some of them were odd. When I wasn't listening to music I was trying to get to know Nakia. She was fascinated by my story of trying to find my family by traveling the world and searching HYDRA bases. As a spy herself, the aspect of that adventure and action sounded thrilling.

She's very brave, strong, and a truly compassionate person. I can see why T'Challa likes her so much.

Okoye landed outside the city of Busan, pressing a button to make the whole ship invisible. I will forever be awed by the technology that country is capable of. We all changed into our disguises in the jet, with Nakia and T'Challa sneaking glances at each other. This made Okoye and I smile knowingly at each other. Okoye placed a wig on her head, and I have to admit it was weird seeing her with hair. I could tell she hated it. I pulled my hair back into a messy bun, not wanting it to get in the way on this mission.

The car Shuri talked about waited for us in the spot she promised. Nakia seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to drive the beautiful vehicle. I have never been to South Korea before, and I have to say that the bright lights and colors of the city were breathtaking. As we step out of the car, I can smell so many amazing foods I feel my mouth water.

"This way." Nakia says, who is wearing a beautiful green dress with yellow patterns on it. The dress has no shoulders and the sleeves cover her whole arm, the dress has a high neckline like mine. Okoye is wearing a red dress like me, but hers looks more glamorous, like she's going to an award show.

Okoye has the largest scowl on her face. "Bast willing, this go quickly and I can get this ridiculous thing off my head."

"It looks nice," Nakia says with smile. "Just whip it back and forth."

Okoye doesn't find this comment funny. I lean toward her to ask: "Is that another pop culture reference?"

Okoye nods with a roll of her eyes, looking back at Nakia. "What? It's a disgrace."

"I think you look beautiful." I say to my friend. She smiles at me despite herself.

Nakia stops at what seems to be a seafood market and begins to talk in Korean to a small older woman wearing a large pink hat. During her greeting I hear the name Sophia. She looks rather hostile, particularly as she gestures towards the three of us.

T'Challa, Okoye, and I share a look. Sophia turns her scowl into a smile, cocking her head towards the room behind her.

In Germany, every child who attends school is required to learn three languages, starting when they're only three years old. That's where I learned English, Russian, and French. I almost learned Chinese when I was in HYDRA, but my superiors figured knowing four languages was enough. But I wish they had taught me anyways. I also wish Xhosa was one of the language options at my school in Hamburg, it would make my life here a lot easier.

Nakia says something that I assume is a thank you. She walks towards a man who holds the blue tarp, waiting for all of us to walk through a door. Nakia of course goes first, with T'Challa and I going through next, Okoye following at the rear. We pass through green glowing metal detectors and I am shocked T'Challa and my vibranium necklaces didn't go off, or the spear that Okoye is hiding. But I'm not going to question that since the guards don't look suspicious. They open the doors up and the four of us walk into a beautiful and vibrant room.

Drawings of different animals cover the walls, but most of them are covered by the people talking and laughing in front of them. The ceiling is covered by lights hanging in large glass balls. I think it's a very odd design. We walk up to the rail and stare down at the bar and gambling tables below us.

"Spread out." T'Challa says. "The buyer is likely already here."

Nakia and T'Challa walk arm in arm down to the main level, while I stay up at the top floor of Okoye. She looks uneasy, forcing a smile to the people we pass by. Something I've learned of Okoye is that she isn't exactly a people person. I link my arm with hers, trying to get her to relax. She glances my way and sends me a genuine smile, but I know that hasn't calmed her nerves or dampened her alertness.

In our communication pieces Shuri gave us, we both hear T'Challa and Nakia's flirting as they scan the bottom of the building. This makes Okoye say: "Can we please focus?"

Silence comes on the other end and Okoye seems satisfied. "Thank you."

I nudge her slightly with my elbow. "It's sweet."

She glares at me. "It's annoying. We have a job to do."

I grab onto some drinks a waiter was carrying, placing one in her hand. "Then let's do our job and blend in." I say clinking my glass against hers.

She shakes her head, noticing the necklace around my neck. "Something of Shuri's design?"

I touch it absentmindedly. "A little gift she gave me."

"Will you be using to tonight?"

I smile at her softly. "I hope I won't have to."

"Eyes up. Americans," Nakia says into the communicator. "I count three."

Okoye and I watch from the rail, hearing her speak into her communicator next to me. "Five," She mutters. "How could you miss Greased Lightning."

I shake my head. "Wow, a reference I actually understand. Wait...I spot another one, near you T'Challa."

I watch as T'Challa looks at the man I was reffering to. His voice sounds different, more calm as he says: "He's an old friend who works for the CIA. It just got a little more complicated."

Okoye looks at me, her face like stone. "You may have to use that if the CIA is involved." She says, pointing with her gaze to my necklace.

As I listen to their conversation, I feel my stomach drop.

"Agent Ross..."

"Your highness."

"You're buying from Klaue."

"What I'm doing or not doing on behalf of the U.S. government is none of your concern."

T'Challa's voice gets lower. "I gave you Zemo..."

"Didn't I keep it under wraps..."

I stop listening after that, feeling slightly lightheaded. I remember seeing Ross's name on the TV when they televised the capture of Bucky. He was in charge of keeping him prisoner and interrogating him...

I wanted to be angry at this man, desperately I did. He was the man who kept Bucky prisoner, who put him through the pain of having to get reset by Zemo in that cold dark prison. But I know Ross didn't know Zemo would do anything. I know Ross was fooled like everyone else. He was a man doing his job and I can't fault him for that.

I watch as T'Challa walks away from Ross, but shortly after the man goes after him. The two seem to be trying to negotiate something.

"This is going to be harder now." I mutter to Okoye.

"You have no idea." She says, continuing to watch the two talk.

After a few minutes, Nakia's voice reappears in our ears. "Klaue, plus eight."

"General?" T'Challa asks.

"In position to secure our exit." Okoye says next to me.

"And the vibranium?"

"I don't see it yet." Nakia says.

"I thought there were no weapons allowed in here." Okoye mutters.

"There's not supposed to be." Nakia says with concern.

"Somebody did not get the memo, they're definitely armed," Okoye comments. The two of us glance over at Klaue's men a few feet from us. "You should get ready to shift." She says to me quietly.

I nod to her, watching as more of Klaue's men enters the building. Okoye sees it to, whispering into her communicator: "Six more. It's a set up."

"We need to move on Klaue."

"Stand down." T'Challa says firmly. "We can't afford a shootout." I couldn't agree more.

"It's now or never." Nakia says, her voice growing urgent.

Okoye hisses something in Xhosa. I realize it before she does, that one of Klaue's men is dangerously close to us. He shouts in our direction, and both of us stiffen, smiling at the man.

Okoye mutters something in Xhosa and kicks her leg into the man's stomach. She brings her spear out and elongates it, jabbing it into the foot of the man coming for her at the front. She throws her wig at the man, making him trip over the rail and he fall down onto one of the gambling tables.

Klaue begins to shoot at Ross, making his men and the CIA turn this building into chaos.

Another man comes towards me and Okoye. I drop down to the floor, kicking my leg up into the man's knee, hearing it snap. I jump back onto my feet and take off one of my heels, hitting it hard across the man's face.

One man gets a hold on me from behind, but I bash my head against his, kicking him hard in the chest, and sending him flying at the wall. It felt weird fighting as a human, I realize I don't do it very often.

Okoye swipes her spear around and takes out three men at once. I jump up and wrap my legs around one of their torso's, bringing them down hard to the ground. I grab the man's gun and use it to shoot another man in the chest, who moments ago was coming up behind Okoye.

She sends a guy through the rail and down to the main level. I watch as Okoye jumps down also, hitting her spear across another man's face. I hop down onto one of the tables, jumping to the ground and shooting a man who was coming up behind T'Challa. The king glances at me and nods, kind of like he's acknowledging my skill and place in this mission.

T'Challa looks up at the stairs, seeing Klaue try to make an escape. We both share a look, together making our way towards him. Nakia and Okoye could take care of themselves and catch up, but T'Challa and I were the ones with abilities. We were ones who had the best chance at getting Klaue.

T'Challa jumps up to the rail and swings his legs over just as Klaue reaches the top. I internally tell my suit to activate, and without waiting a second, I jump into the hair and feel my wings beating at my sides. Klaue sends a blast from his artificial hand, sending the king flying backwards onto one of the tables.

The blast hits me as well, making me loose concentration and fall to the ground in human form. I crawl over to T'Challa, shaking him to try and wake him up. I hear Nakia and Okoye both shout that they were in pursuit, so I know that the car we drove here in will be taken.

T'Challa finally comes back into consciousness, looking around in confusion. I help him to his feet and explain that the girls are after Klaue now. We both run up the stairs together. As soon as we rush through the blue tarp door, T'Challa shouts for his sister.

A car I didn't realize we had, appears from behind us.

I feel extremely happy to hear Shuri's voice. "Wait! Which side of the road is it?"

"For Bast's sake just drive!"

"Okay, calm down!" I hear her say as the roar of the engines come to life.

T'Challa and I share another wordless conversation. I watch as his suit comes over his body and he flips backwards onto the car. I shift into a Cheetah, running in front of the car and trying to catch up with Klaue and the girls.

I make it to Nakia and Okoye's car and pounce, landing on the top of it. I shift back into human form, bringing my head down to the window, knocking on it.

Okoye turns the window down, shouting: "They're trying to loose us! I'm going right!"

I glance up and see that they are splitting off, so I hold on tightly to the car as she swerves right, picking up speed.

I hear Shuri yell in the communicator: "We'll take the other two! I see a shortcut!"

Nakia speeds off after the other remaining cars as they start to shoot at us. Of course the car and myself are bulletproof, so this does no damage. I feel immense gratitude towards Shuri.

I shout into my communicator: "I want you to speed up to the car and then slow down. I have an idea."

"Just tell me when." Nakia replies. I get into a crouch, taking a deep breath and shouting: "Now!"

I watch her speed up. Once we are a few feet from the vehicle, I jump, shifting into a lion mid air. I grab onto the car with my claws, watching the shock and bewilderment of Klaue's men as they shoot at a bulletproof cat.

I manueaver down towards the tires and bring my paw up to slash at them, watching the car swerve out of control and trip over something in the road. As the car begins to flip, I push off the vehicle and shift onto an eagle. I fly over the wreckage and watch Nakia drive around the crash, slowing down enough for me to shift back into human, landing again on the top of the car. I release a shaky breath, followed shortly by a laugh. That was exhilarating.

"That was amazing!" Nakia shouts to me.

The celebration is short lived though, because the car in front of the one I wrecked is now shooting at us. I see the window go down more, followed by Okoye pushing herself out of the car. She gets onto the top of the car next to me, and before I can ask what she's about to do, she throws her spear at the car. It goes through the windows and stops in front of it, making the car crash.

Nakia shouts in triumph and swerves around another wreck. I can see the satisfied smile on Okoye's face, this only increases as she gives me a high five.

We all three realize that the last car in front of us is the one with Klaue, because we can see his horrified face in the rearview mirror.

"Hold tight!" Nakia yells to us as we speed over a small hill. Okoye and I brace ourselves as the car jerks from the impact of hitting the ground again. We watch as Klaue's car goes over another hill, and as we brace ourselves again. As we do, we see Klaue leaning out of his window, his hand gun aimed at us.

He sends a blast at us, making the car break apart. Okoye grabs onto her spear and plunges it into the ground, surfing on a piece of the destroyed car. Nakia slides down the street still in her seat. I had shifted into a bird and flew away from the destruction, watching in anger as Klaue gets away. I land back on the ground, asking them both if they're alright.

They both nod to me, too shocked or too angry for words.

A car slows down in front of us. The window is lowered to reveal Agent Ross's face, gesturing us to come forward. "Hop in." He says.

The three of us share a look, but with a nod from Okoye, we get in, with Ross commenting for Okoye to put the spear in the trunk.

Once we are all in, Ross slams his foot on the gas. We are able to quickly catch up to Klaue, finding T'Challa hot on his tail. Klaue sends a blast at the car and it explodes just like ours did. As Ross tries to avoid hitting the wreckage, T'Challa uses the momentum of the blast to jump onto Klaue's car, tearing at the wheel and crashing it.

Once we are in the clear, we speed up to where T'Challa has Klaue in his grasp, ready to strike.

Okoye shouts for T'Challa and Nakia alerts him that the world watches. Indeed the people of South Korea are surrounding the scene, their phones out taking pictures and videotaping.

Ross, who is still sitting in the driver's seat, says: "Come on, guys. Let's go, huh?"

This brings T'Challa to his senses. He turns his head and gestures for me and Okoye to help him. We both grab onto Klaue, helping him into Ross's car, trying to tune out his sadistic laughter.


	11. Doing What’s Right

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Nakia has been watching out the window the entire time we've been here. Ross took us all to a low key CIA building where we can interrogate Klaue. It has all of us feeling on edge, especially me. It's like I walked into the lion's den.

Okoye, T'Challa, and I have watched him behind the one way glass. He just keeps cackling and joking that he can see us. Agent Ross approaches us as Klaue begins to make kissing noises towards us.

Ross's attention slips to me. He smiles warmly. "I don't believe we have met properly, I'm Agent Ross." He extends his hand out to me.

Something occurs to me in that moment: he's in the CIA, so there is no way he won't know who I am. If he hasn't recognized my face by now, then I think I'm pretty much in the clear on that account. But my name. He would recognize my name. If I told him the truth there's no way Ross will let us take Klaue. There's no way he'd trust T'Challa again. I even glance at the king and see him tense up at the agent's politeness.

Without wasting another second, I smile back at the man. "Sarah Ridley." I tell him, hearing T'Challa release a silent sigh of relief.

Ross accepts this, but there's a slight hesitation in his gaze. I realize he must have seen me shift and I didn't hide my German accent just now. I hope that isn't enough for him to connect the dots.

For now though, I seem to be alright. Ross turns to the glass, shaking his head at our prisoner. "So, this is a big mess, huh? I figured we could go good cop, bad cop. I'll talk to him first, then you guys go in."

Okoye turns to T'Challa and speaks something in Xhosa.

T'Challa turns to smile at Ross, who is as oblivious as I am about what they're saying. T'Challa also says something in Xhosa, but he glances at me and realizes I'm out of the loop.

"Okoye doesn't believe we should let him talk to Klaue," T'Challa says in German, which really takes me aback. "But I said we should let him interrogate him for a few minutes rather than make a scene."

I can't help but smile. "Since when do you speak German?" I reply in German also.

T'Challa shrugs. "It was an elective," he then turns back to Ross and speaks to him in English. "After your questioning we will take him back to Wakanda with us."

Ross shakes his head. "What? No. Look, I like you, a lot. But he's in my custody now. He's not going anywhere," He steps forward slightly and lightly hits T'Challa on the chest. "I'm doing you guys a favor by letting you even be here."

Okoye glances directly from T'Challa's chest to Ross's hand. She gestures from him to the desk, with a cold look in her eyes. I don't have to speak Xhosa to know that she's threatening Ross if he touches the king again.

Ross leans towards T'Challa. "Does she speak English?"

Okoye smiles with hostility at the agent. "When she wants to."

Ross takes the hint. "I'm going in. When I'm done, you guys are up."

Before Ross walks in though, T'Challa calls his name and slaps his hand onto his shoulder. "I do appreciate your help in Busan."

Okoye and I know what T'Challa is doing, but Ross has no clue. "See that? Its called diplomacy. You're welcome." He says, disappearing into the room with Klaue.

T'Challa and I both turn to Okoye, but he beats me to the punch. "Okoye..." He says, giving her a stern look.

She scoffs, even more so as T'Challa says: "Play nice."

Okoye waves him off. "Americans. They think they're so great."

I smile to myself sadly: "Not all of them are bad."

Okoye knows who I'm referring to, so she places a comforting arm around my shoulder.

The three of us turn our attention to Ross sitting across from Klaue, listening in on the conversation they have since T'Challa put one of Shuri's communicators on Ross's jacket.

"You know you really shouldn't trust the Wakandans. I'm much more you're speed."

"I don't trust anybody. Not in this job."

Hearing Ross say that reminds me of Alex, making my heart sinks in my chest. It felt like part of me was missing with him back in Wakanda.

"What I am interested in is that arm canon out there. Where'd you get that?" Ross asks, leaning forward.

"It's an old mining tool I made some adjustments to. But I can get you one, if you'd like."

"Why don't you give me the name of your supplier, and I'll ask them."

Klaue smiles smuggly. "He's right outside. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Ross knits his eyebrows together. "What? T'Challa? You're telling me that weapon on your arm is from Wakanda?"

Klaue winks. "Bingo," he leans forward, mirroring Ross. "Tell me, what do you actually know about Wakanda?"

"Shepards, textiles, cool outfits."

"It's all a front. Explorers searched for it for centuries: El Dorado, the golden city. They thought they could find it in South America, but it was in Africa the whole time. A technological marvel. All because it was built on a mound of the most valuable metal known to man. Isipho, they call it. The gift. Vibranium."

Ross doesn't believe him. "Vibranium, yeah, strongest metal on earth."

Klaue shakes his head. "It's not just a metal. They sew it into their clothes. It powers their city, their tech...their weapons."

This catches Ross's attention. "Weapons?"

Klaue chuckles. "Makes my arm canon look like a leaf blower."

"That's a nice fairy tale, but Wakanda is a third world country and you stole all their vibranium."

Klaue begins to laugh hysterically. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, sharing a nervous glance with Okoye. I didn't like how much Klaue was telling Ross.

"I stole all of it?" He says still cackling. "I took a tiny piece of it. They have a mountain full of it. They've been mining it for thousands of years and they still haven't scratched the surface. I'm the only outsider whose seen it and gotten out of their alive...well until now." He says, looking right at me, like he can see me through the one way glass.

I turn away from them, taking a few steps back, finding that T'Challa is doing the same.

"If you don't believe me," Klaue continues. "You go ask your friend what his suit is made of. What his claws are made of."

There is silence now, and I know that the interrogation is over. I lean over to T'Challa, dropping my voice to a whisper. "If Ross believes Klaue and decides to investigate what does that mean for everyone?"

T'Challa shakes his head. "I don't know. I'm also not sure Ross buys the name you gave him."

"I don't think so either. I'm so sorry, T'Challa. I wouldn't have come if i'd known—"

T'Challa rubs his hand over my arm. "Don't. You have been a great help to us and a great friend. We will figure out what to do with Ross."

Ross comes out, looking determined for answers. "Your father told the U.N. that Klaue stole all the vibranium you had. Now he's telling me you have more?"

T'Challa keeps calm as he says: "And you believe the word of an arms dealer strapped to a chair?"

Ross doesn't buy that. "How much more are you hiding?"

Before T'Challa can answer, Nakia bursts into the room, saying something in Xhosa. Not even five seconds later, a bomb goes off right in the room Klaue is being held in.

A man in a mask comes in through the now blown apart wall and begins shooting. Ross jumps in front of Nakia, getting shot in the back as he falls down, taking her down with him.

T'Challa and I both active our suits and Okoye gets her spear out. A grenade is thrown, and without a second thought, T'Challa jumps on top of it, absorbing the blast. He and I both jump through the gap in the wall, but the masked man sends a blast towards us, knocking T'Challa and I back. The kenetic energy built up from the grenade goes off and sends me flying towards the other wall.

Okoye comes rushing out, asking if he's alright, but T'Challa is starring in confusion at the masked man driving away from us.

T'Challa makes his way over to me, grabbing onto my shoulders and asking if I'm okay. I nod.

Okoye looks back urgently at the building. "Nakia." She says, and the three of us rush back inside.

She and two other CIA agents are bent over Agent Ross. Nakia looks racked with guilt as she says: "He just jumped in front of me. I don't think he'll make it here. It hit his spine."

And here is another example of the good others are capable of. A few weeks ago he was unknowingly keeping an innocent man prisoner, now he's dying to save a stranger.

"Give me a Kimoyo Bead," T'Challa says, and Nakia does as he says. Ross grunts in pain as T'Challa sticks the bead into his back, but after a moment it seems to lessen the pain. "This will stabilize him for now."

The remaining CIA agents look worried and T'Challa turns to them. "Give him to us," he says, sharing a long look with Nakia. "We can save him."

-

As the jet flies us back to Wakanda on autopilot, the four of us stand around Ross, who is lying down on a table unconscious.

"Our mission was to bring Klaue back. We failed. This man is a foreign intelligence operative. How do we justify bringing him into our borders?" Okoye asks.

"He took a bullet for me." Nakia says, disgusted we're even having this conversation.

"That was his choice." She replies.

I brush my hair back, glancing up at Okoye. "How did you justify letting a wanted HYDRA agent into your borders? Not even mentioning my brother or Bu—Sergeant Barnes. You justified it because you knew we were good people who needed help. This isn't any different."

Nakia agrees with me, nodding at me in approval. "Exactly. And now we're just going to let him die?"

"Alright fine, let us consider that we heal him," Okoye says, starring down at the dying man. "It is his duty to report back to his country. And as king it is your duty to protect yours."

This seems to anger T'Challa. "I am well aware of my duties, General," He looks down at Ross as well, sounding exasperated. "I agree with Nakia and Soroya...I cannot just let him die knowing we can save him."

Okoye has seemed to except she lost the argument, but she asks curtly: "Where exactly are we taking him?"

But we all know what that answer is. As we make it through the barrier of Wakanda, we fly right past the palace and towards where Shuri works. As we bring Ross down to her lab, I feel filled with joy at seeing her excited face.

She doesn't bother greeting any of us, she just flips back the cloth we have over Ross's face, exclaiming: "Great! Another broken white boy for us to fix, this is going to be fun."

I lightly hit her arm at that comment, knowing who she's referring to, but I can't help but smile.

We pick Ross up carefully and lie him on the table in Shuri's lab, where she begins to scan his body with the machine dangling above him. It makes several beeping noises before a model of Ross's spine appears in front of Shuri. She expands it so we can see the bullet.

She looks to the four of us. "He will live."

I feel extreme relief at that and I can tell T'Challa and Nakia do as well. Okoye just stands there silently.

Shuri's bracelet beeps at her, and glances at it, then back up to her brother. "W'Kabi is here."

T'Challa gestures for Okoye to stay here, letting out a sigh before he makes his way up the stairs to meet with W'Kabi.

With her brother gone, Shuri looks to me in excitement. "How was it?"

I smile at her. "The suit was great! I didn't feel any pain and shifting was like a breeze."

Nakia sends a smirk my way. "She was incredible. You should have seen her."

Shuri looks jealous. "I wish I had."

I come around the table and wrap my arm around her shoulders. "Later I promise I'll shift for you," I then drop my voice a little lower. "Has my brother come to see you?"

She shakes her head. "I have not seen him, no."

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Could you do my a favor and make something that I can use to keep in contact with my brother? He keeps running off."

"Would you like Kimoyo Beads? Like these? That's what we use for communication."

"If that isn't too much trouble."

Shuri winks at me. "Nothing's trouble when it comes to you. I'll have them for you by tonight."

I glance over at Bucky's cryo tank, whispering to Shuri: "I think we should cover Bucky's tank up with a tarp or something. I don't want Ross to see him."

Shuri nods to me. "Good idea. We don't want him stealing your boyfriend in the middle of the night."


	12. Killmonger

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Running down the steps into the princess's lab, I see the lecture I am about to hear by looking at Soroya's face.

She is sitting at the table where Shuri is working on a device. She is already glaring at me as I hit the final steps.

I smile at her, opening my arms out wide. "How was my baby sister's mission?"

She gets out of her seat and stalks up to me. "You have been out of the palace for two days and you didn't get your suit? I asked you to do one thing, Alex. One! What if something had happened while I was gone and you needed to shift?"

"Then I would have shifted and been fine. When I became human again the bastards who attacked me would get a show of the goods."

Soroya is not amused by my comment. "Shuri is making us the beads they use to communicate with each other. This way I can check up on you and you can call me if you need help."

"Why don't you just put a tracker in my head?"

"Don't tempt me. Where have you been the past two days?"

I don't know how to answer this. What do I say? 'I've been hanging out with an over idealistic attractive man and his revolutionists inside a mountain'?

I sigh, going for a simplified explanation. "I've been with a friend."

That was not what Soroya expected me to say. "A friend?"

"An acquaintance. He's been...showing me a different part of Wakanda."

Soroya's overprotective sister act drops and curiosity seeps into her face. "What's his name?"

"Khari." I say. I hate how warm my cheeks get at the sound of his name, because then everyone can see right through me, especially my sister.

A smile grows on her face as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Where did you and Khari meet?"

"He was painting by one of the lakes near the forest, I just happened to walk by."

"Sounds romantic."

Now I was the one not amused. Before we could discuss this topic further, a grunt comes from one of the tables in the lab. I now realize it isn't just the three of us. I should have sensed the man lying on the table already, but the conversation about Khari has muddled my mind. He's very distracting.

A man, maybe in his early forties, gets off the table and starts touching at his back confused. He walks towards the three of us, concern replacing the confusion. "Alright, where am I?"

Shuri jumps at the sound of his voice. "Don't scare me like that, colonizer!"

The man takes a step back, ignoring Soroya and my presence. "I'm Everett."

Shuri nods. "Yes, I know. Everett Ross; former air force pilot and now CIA."

Ross turns around the room, shaking his head at himself. "Is this Wakanda?"

"No it's Kansas." I say, not being able to help myself.

Ross's attention falls onto me, and then to Soroya. "Who is this?" He asks her.

"This is my brother; Aaron Ridley."

I don't question why she's lying to him about this, especially since Shuri said he is a CIA agent. So I give the man a forced smile.

Ross keeps his attention on my sister as he asks: "How long ago was Korea?"

"Yesterday." Soroya replies.

"I don't think so. Bullet wounds don't just magically heal overnight."

Shuri turns to the man, smiling to herself. "They do here. But not by magic, by technology," Ross begins to look around, making Shuri give him a warning look. "Don't touch anything. My brother will return soon."

Ross walks up to the window, having the same wonder and fascination on his face we did when we saw Wakanda for the first time. He points to the trains that fly by. "These train things, that's magnetic levitation right?"

"Obviously."

"Obviously, but I've never seen it this efficient...the light panels what are they?"

Shuri seems to like when people ask her about her work, because she sounds very enthusiastic. "Sonic stabilizers."

"Sonic what?"

Shuri walks past us and towards Ross. "In it's raw form, vibranium is too dangerous to be transported at that speed, so I developed a way to temporarily deactivate it."

Ross turns back to her. "There's vibranium on those trains?"

"There's vibranium all around us...that's how I healed you." She says, really enjoying explaining this to someone. She walks back over towards us and I notice her bracelet is beeping.

Soroya walks closer to Shuri as the image of the General appears. "Where is T'Challa? His Kimoyo Beads have been switched off." Okoye asks.

"We are not joined at the hip Okoye—"

"We haven't seen him since he left to talk to Zuri. What's the matter?" Soroya asks, concern etching her tone.

"A man showed up at the border who claims to have killed Klaue."

Shuri and Soroya glance at each other. "What?" They ask simultaneously. I just stand there confused.

"W'Kabi is transporting him as we speak, to the palace. We need to find your brother!"

Shuri walks over to a screen, where an image of a man comes up. Shuri looks at it in shock. "An outsider?"

"No. A Wakandan."

Ross comes over to us, shaking his head. "He's not Wakandan. He's one of ours."

"He's right," Soroya says. I don't expect her to say what she says next. "I recognize him. He goes by Killmonger."

Ross turns to my sister. "You recognize him? The only way you would know him is either if you were in the CIA...which is doubtful. If you lived in the Middle East you'd know him or...or if you were ordered to kill him. You're not an American so there's no way you would have fought by his side. Who are you?"

Shuri gives Okoye a worried look through the projection, but she cuts the connection, gesturing for Ross to sit down.

Soroya moves towards him, but I grab onto her arm. "Don't. This is exactly what I mean by your trust and faith in others will get us killed."

She moves her arm out of my grasp, standing in front of Ross. "My name is Soroya Roberts, but you may know me as 'The Savage'. I was kidnapped as a child and forced to work for HYDRA in order to keep my family safe, who were used as leverage. I made my reputation to be something so no HYDRA agent would doubt my loyalties. In reality I have never killed a person HYDRA ordered me to, and have always been truly loyal to doing what's right. I didn't tell you earlier because I knew T'Challa needed Klaue, and if you knew who I was you wouldn't have cooperated. I came here to Wakanda because I've been on the run since HYDRA fell. These people offered to keep me safe. Now, I know Killmonger because HYDRA kept him on their radar. We both know what kind of man he is, and if he's here that can't mean any good. Especially since he managed to kill Klaue when no one has been able to for thirty years. I want to see what Killmonger wants and I can't imagine it's anything good. He didn't just kill Klaue for no reason. He wants something. Now, will you assist us?"

Ross listened to every word she said and seems to be in deep contemplation. He looks over at Shuri, who nods adamantly at what Soroya said, not wanting to see her friend get locked up.

Ross slowly nods his head. "Alright, I'll help."

For the love of god, why did that work? Soroya and Khari risk everything for the idea that all people can be trustworthy. In my experience that doesn't work, but why does it with them?

Soroya nods to Ross, extending her hand out. He stares down at it for a long while, but takes it. "That doesn't mean I believe you."

"Then that means I will just have to make you."

After a few minutes, T'Challa and Nakia arrive. I'm assuming Shuri contacted her brother when I wasn't paying attention. We all gather around the screen, starring at the picture of Killmonger.

"Eric Stevens," Ross explains. "He graduated Annapolis at age nineteen, MIT for grad school. He joined the SEALS and went straight to Afghanistan, where he wrapped up confirmed kills like it was a video game."

Soroya chips in next, pushing a strand of hair away from her face. "He was apart of the JSOC ghost unit. They were very serious, every member was on HYDRA's radar. The only reason they weren't killed was because they killed many of HYDRA's enemies, so they figured they were useful. They would drop off the grid to commute assassinations and take down governments."

T'Challa continues to stare at the picture. "Did he reveal anything about his identity?"

"He has a war dog tattoo," Shuri explains, "But we have no record of him."

T'Challa nods, looking between all of us. "We need to go to the palace now," he says, turning to Nakia. "Will you watch over him?" Gesturing to Ross.

Nakia nods. The whole room then turn to Soroya and I. Soroya looks to T'Challa, a pleasing look in her eyes: "Please let me come. Perhaps I can help."

T'Challa nods. "Of course you can come. I'll leave it up to you about your brother."

She turns to me and I already know the answer to that question. I don't bother arguing. "Come get me if something goes wrong."

She nods, squeezing my hands. "Go get your suit. Please stay out of trouble." She says, placing the Kimoyo Beads Shuri made me in my hands, before running off with T'Challa and Shuri, disappearing up the stairs.

-

**Soroya**

"Is this man Wakandan or not?" One of the council members ask. Another council member says something in Xhosa, sounding confused and distressed.

T'Challa looks slightly angry as he sits in his throne and I don't know why. Shuri and the queen mother look confused also, and as I stand by Okoye I wish I could ease their minds.

The doors open and in comes Killmonger; his hands tied behind his back, with W'Kabi leading him inside. As he walks, his eyes scan over each and every one of us, lingering on on me for a long time.

W'Kabi lets go of his grip on him, stepping off to the side. T'Challa says for him to speak, but Killmonger isn't looking at him, he's looking at me.

"Well well well," he croons to me. "It appears I'm not the only assassin here. What an honor it is to finally meet 'The Savage'. You're a lot shorter than I thought you would be..." He trails off. I can't help the chills that go down my spine.

T'Challa repeats his order from earlier and W'Kabi is left to translate.

Killmonger looks smug. "I'm standing in your house...serving justice to a man who stole your vibranium and murdered your people. Justice your king couldn't deliver."

T'Challa stands at the mention of his father. I watch as Okoye walks along side him, the Dora Milaje now surround Killmonger. T'Challa whispers something to him, leaving the others in the dark. Thanks to my abilities, I can hear what he says.

"I don't care that you brought Klaue. The only reason why I don't kill you where you stand is because I know who you are. Now what do you want?"

I don't need animal hearing to hear Killmonger's response, because he almost shouts it. "I want the throne."

The council members start to laugh. I am left to ponder what T'Challa means by 'I know who you are'. He can't mean what we discussed in the lab.

"Y'all sittin' up here comfortable. Must feel good. There's about two billion people all over the world that looks like us. But their lives are a lot harder. Wakanda has the tools to liberate 'em all."

T'Challa looks angrier, but not necessarily at Killmonger. I sense something else is causing the emotion. "And what tools are those?"

"Vibranium. Your weapons."

"Our weapons will not be used to wage war on the world. It is not our way to be judge, jury, and executioner for people who are not our own." He replies. I again am awed at the honor and grace T'Challa has in every word he speaks.

"Not your own? But didn't life start right here in this continent? So ain't all people your people?"

"I am not king of all people. I am king of Wakanda. It is my responsibility to make sure our people are safe and that vibranium does not fall into the hands of a person like you."

The queen mother rises, looking angrier than T'Challa. "We have entertained this charlatan for far too long. Reject his request."

I move towards the queen and Shuri, stepping just in front of them to make sure he can't do anything to them. Killmonger doesn't even glance my way. "Oh I ain't requesting nothing. Ask who I am."

"You're Erik Stevens," Shuri says, walking in front of me, but I pull her back slightly. "An American Black operative. A mercenary named Killmonger. That's who you are."

"That's not my name princess," he says, making me tighten my grip on her arm as he addresses her. "Ask me, king."

"No," T'Challa says curtly, turning around. "Take him away."

Nothing could prepare us for what the man says next. One of the council members shouts to Killmonger and he speaks in Xhosa. By the reactions it gives I wish I knew what he said.

"I found my daddy with panther claws in his chest! You ain't the son of a king, you're the son of a murder!" Killmonger yells in English.

The queen mother stands up and shouts back at him: "Lies!"

"I'm afraid not, queen mother." W'Kabi says, holding up a ring on a gold chain, one identical to T'Challa's. This is when I start to put the pieces together.

Killmonger turns to Ramonda and smiles smugly. "Hey auntie."

So he's T'Challa's cousin. His father was murdered by King T'Chaka and now he is wanting to wage war on the world. I know I should feel what everyone else is feeling: anger, confusion, betrayal, but I feel pity. Killmonger and I were a lot alike. Our parents ripped from us, left to face the world on our own, turned into something that we never thought we would become. He is what Alex and I could have become if things had been different. For that, I pity him.

As W'Kabi places the ring into Ramonda's hand, Killmonger continues to speak. "I'm exercising my blood right to challenge for the mantles of king. And Black Panther."

The queen mother begs her son not to do it, while some of the council members say that he has a claim to the throne. One of the council members shouts that the challenge ceremony will take weeks to prepare.

"Weeks? I don't need weeks. The whole country ain't got to be there. I just need him. And somebody to get me out of these chains."

The queen mother turns to her son again. "T'Challa, what do you know of this?"

I walk away from Shuri and Ramonda, going up to Killmonger, watching his eyes fall to me.

"Eric, you and me are a lot alike. My parents were killed too. I know how that scars you. I know how angry at the world you are, how desperate you are to fix it because of all the horrible things you've seen. But you don't have to do this. Doing this won't bring you joy, it will only make that void in your heart grow. Please." I beg, ignoring the others in the room, ignoring the council and king standing behind me.

Killmonger doesn't even bat an eye. He just glances back up at T'Challa, his face a stone wall.

Starring down at Killmonger's ring, T'Challa meets Killmonger's gaze. "I accept your challenge."


	13. Escape

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Nakia shoves both of us into a room, looking from Ross to me. "I need to go. You watch him."

"Soroya may need me." I say, but she just shakes her head.

"She'll be fine. Just watch him!" She says frantically, before shutting the door. Why was I the one who got babysitting duty?

I look back at Ross to see that he's sitting down on the couch. I decide to join him.

A few moments of silence pass before Ross speaks. "Are you a HYDRA agent too?"

I shake my head. "No. I was kidnapped by them, held like Soroya had said. I have the same abilities she does, so they used me as a sort of executioner."

Ross stays silent for another moment. I take this opportunity to try my hand at appealing to his good nature, trying to think of what Soroya might say.

"I know you're thinking about turning my sister in, maybe even me too. But it would be a big mistake."

"And why is that?"

"She told you who she was because she knew it was the right thing to do. She knew that your skills and knowledge could help with Killmonger. She decided to be honest and convince you not to take her reputation as a reason not to help. She knew that you wouldn't believe her, she knew you would most likely lock her up in a jail cell. But she didn't care. She did the right thing anyways because that's who she is. When T'Challa announced he was going on a mission to find Klaue, she volunteered because she couldn't stand the thought of not helping the people who had taken her and I in. For the love of god you kept the man she loves prisoner and she still wants to trust you and to fight along side you!" I say, watching confusion go over his face at that last part. I decide to move on in my discussion.

"I know you don't want to trust her, I know believe me. I don't trust anybody either. I know in our kind of life trusting people is hard because we see how horrible people can be. But that's not my sister. She spent fourteen years saving the people she was ordered to kill, showing mercy to those who wronged her, and defending those who couldn't defend themselves. If you take her, then you will be taking away perhaps the only pure hearted person on this earth."

Ross listened to every word I said. Once he knew I was finished, he slowly nods his head. "You really believe in her that much?"

"More than I've ever believed in anyone or anything."

"And why should I trust a word you say?"

"You have no reason to. But I know you trust T'Challa, I know you trust Shuri. They will tell you the same thing. I beg of you, don't turn my baby sister in."

Ross looks away from me. I know the battle raging back and forth in his mind; between wanting to believe me and knowing I could very well be lying.

"I will have a discussion with T'Challa when this is over...and I will weigh his and your sides of the story. That's all I can offer you right now."

"Then I guess I'll take what I can get."

Ross looks at me curiously. "You're not going to try and persuade me to not take you in too?"

I shake my head, smiling despite myself. "No. I did kill innocent people. I was not under control of my powers and HYDRA used that to their advantage. But I did kill them. If anyone deserves to be locked up it's me."

Ross scoffs. "How noble of you."

I shrug my shoulders. "Nothing noble about it. It's the truth."

My Kimoyo Beads begin to buzz and in my gut I feel like something is wrong. I tap on the beads. I don't see a picture of Soroya, I just hear her frantic words: "T'Challa is dead. We need to escape. We need to escape!"

"Soroya listen to me! Listen. I have an idea, okay just, you'll have to trust me. Meet me in the forest next to the palace, don't let anyone see you."

Soroya's voice sounds strained and thick. I assume she's been crying. If T'Challa is dead, then I know she is doing everything in her power to hold back sobs for her lost friend. "Okay, okay we'll meet you there."

Ross didn't hear the conversation I had with her, but he comes over to me with a frantic look in his eyes upon hearing my worried tone. "What's happened?"

"T'Challa is dead. They need to escape, and so do we," I say, turning to the door, not surprised to find it locked. I shove my foot into the door, splitting it in two, gesturing for Ross to go in front of me. He begins to run down the stairs, but I move towards the window. Thankfully I took my suit before Nakia forced us up here. I just hope this thing works like Shuri said it would. As Ross shouts to me, I tell my suit to activate, jumping through the window, transforming into a bird and flying towards the mountains.

Thank god I chose an eagle, because the flight doesn't take very long. I first stop at what has now become our meeting spot and find he's not there. I then fly towards the mountain, going over to the spot Khari told me about. I frantically press on the side of the mountain until I find the button. The door opens, and I don't waste a second before transforming into a cheetah, sprinting up the path. Once I reach the top, I transform back into a human, not wanting to frighten anyone.

"Khari? Khari where are you!" I yell, remembering that today is his revolution meeting day.

"Alex? Alex, whats wrong?" I hear a familiar voice shout. From the small house exits Khari, his eyes filled with worry.

"The king is dead. The princess and queen mother have escaped the palace, they are with my sister now. They'll all be killed, including me, if we don't find someplace safe." I say, grabbing onto his hand tightly. The contact at first jars Khari, but he very quickly grasps my hand back.

"We'll bring them here. They'll be safe for now. Where are they?"

I was so overwhelmed with gratitude I could kiss him, and tempting as that thought might be to me, I pull him towards the path. The two of us sprint down the mountain, beginning our journey back to the others.

-

**Soroya**

Agent Ross found us when he escaped from the palace. He told me Alex had flown out of a window and didn't know where he went. I knew he was acting on the idea he had, so I don't worry.

We left Ross with Shuri and the queen mother while Nakia and I snuck back into the palace. We found Okoye standing near a window overlooking the city and the three of us all embraced.

Okoye, with her voice thick and tears in her eyes, asks: "The queen mother and Shuri, they are safe?"

"Yes." Nakia assures her.

"Alex and I are working on a safer place for them to hide. I swear to you on my life, nothing will happen to them." I promise her, and I know she trusts me to keep my word.

Nakia pulls at Okoye's arm, moving towards the exit. "We should get to them immediately."

She stands her ground. "I cannot."

"What?" We both ask.

"I cannot, though my heart is with you."

Nakia looks as if Okoye had slapped her. "We cannot turn our nation over to a man who showed up here only hours ago!"

"He is of royal blood."

Nakia voice cracks as she responds: "He killed T'Challa!"

"In ritual combat."

"Does that really matter?" Nakia practically shouts. I don't even want to imagine how that feels. How it would feel if Bucky were the one to have died today...

Nakia tries to compose herself. "You are the greatest warrior Wakanda has. Help me overthrow him before he becomes too strong."

"Overthrow? Nakia! I'm not a spy that can come and go as they do chose! I am loyal to that throne! No matter who sits upon it! What are you loyal to?"

Nakia looks sadly at her friend. "I loved him. I loved my country, too."

Okoye's voice is stern as she says: "Then you serve your country."

"No. I save my country." Nakia says, starting to walk away. Okoye turns to me.

"And you? What will you fight for?"

I smile at my friend, finally knowing that answer. "You remember I told you I didn't know my purpose in life anymore? That I didn't know whether I wanted a life of peace or battle? I have made that choice, and it has never been more clear to me than it is now. I cannot stand by and watch as innocents die when I know I can save them. My loyalty, my purpose is to help those in need, no matter who sits on what throne or whose in charge of me. I will do what is right. Killmonger is a damaged and broken soul and he needs to be stopped. I will die trying if that's what it takes to make this country safe again."

I turn away from Okoye, feeling Nakia clasp her hand with mine. With a sad smile, the two of us sprint out of the room.

When we make it back outside the palace, we find the three of them still in the trees, with Ramonda holding up a knife until she recognizes it's only us.

Ramonda lets out a sigh of relief, looking around. "Where's Okoye?"

"Okoye is not coming. Her and the Dora Milaje will serve the new king."

I can see how much this breaks their hearts. I can see the queen mother is trying to hold back more tears as she asks: "What has happened to our Wakanda?"

Nakia and I both don't have an answer, but she squeezes my arm, and says: "Wait here."

"Do you need help?"

"What I need is for you to watch over them. I will be back shortly." She says, before disappearing into the trees again.

I look over to Shuri and see the tears falling down her cheeks silently. I walk over to her, wrapping my arms around her. She practically falls into my embrace, crying into my shoulder. I extend a hand out to the queen mother, who grasps it tightly. I just wish I could do more to comfort them. I can't imagine Nakia's pain and I couldn't bare the thought of Shuri's. I don't think I could ever be happy again if something happened to Alex.

As if Ramonda can read my mind, she asks: "Where is your brother? What's this plan he has?"

I look over to her, stroking Shuri's hair as she continues to cry. "He just told us to wait here. I know him, he'll be here. Just give him some more time."

I glance back at Ross, noticing that he's been watching me. He doesn't speak though, his gaze full of pity, but some form of understanding as well that I don't know the context of.

Feeling my own tears fall down my face, I try not to worry about the whereabouts of my brother, or the friend that I just lost, or the man frozen in a lab that I would be leaving behind.

I whisper into Shuri's ear, being so careful in front of Ross. "Will Bucky be safe? Can anyone harm him?"

She shakes her head. "No," she whispers. "I covered him up well. If someone finds him they have no way to defrost him without me. He's safe."

He's safe. Words I wish I could believe. But while Killmonger was on that throne, he wasn't safe. None of us are.

We hear a rustling in the leaves. I turn towards the noise, ready to shift at any moment, but my heart skips a beat as Alex comes into view, with a man following behind him. I let go of Shuri, running over to Alex and wrapping my arms around him. I feel one of his hands hold the back of my head while the other rubs my back.

"Thank god you're safe." He says to me in German, squeezing me tightly.

I can't find words, so I just nod my head, squeezing my brother tighter. I pull back from him and turn my attention to the man next to Alex, who is smiling at me warmly. This has to be the friend Alex had been talking about. As I share a glance with Alex, he confirms the unspoken question with a nod.

"You must be Alex's sister?" He asks.

I nod, tucking my hair behind my ears. "Soroya Roberts. And you are?"

"Khari Chikere. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." I can't help but smirk at his soft, kind voice and politeness. He's also extremely handsome. I share another glance at Alex, noticing he looks slightly embarrassed.

Khari goes over to Ramonda and Shuri, who look at Khari in fear. I just then realize he's a Jabari tribe member. I glance once again at my brother. So, that's where he's been running off to.

"My queen...my princess. I am deeply sorry for your loss. May he be reunited with his ancestors."

Both of them seem shocked by his words, their initial fear and hostility fading quickly. "You're going to help us?"

Khari grabs onto the hands of the queen mother, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Yes. Is this everyone?"

"No were still waiting for—"

"I'm here!" Nakia announces, carrying a covered object in her hands. She reaches us, glancing at Khari and then to me.

"We are going to Jabariland?"

Khari and I both nod. She unexpectedly nods her head in agreement. "Good. I have something to offer the man-ape."

Khari takes a step forward. "What?"

"The power of the Black Panther."


	14. Walks Through The Forest

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

As we walk through the forest, I allow Shuri and her mother to have some time to themselves. They need to grieve their loss alone, no matter how much I want to comfort them.

Alex is walking a little bit ahead of us, with Ross close behind him. I decide to walk next to Khari, having many questions for the young Jabari warrior.

"So you are who my brother has been running off with?" I say to him.

Khari smiles lightly, using his wooden spear to push leaves and twigs away from both of us. "I find him very fascinating. I have never met another person more hellbent on believing the world is corrupt and selfish."

"I'm guessing he didn't tell you about what happened to him?"

"You may have gathered your brother is not keen on opening up about things. But he did tell me a Russian agency gave him serum that allows him, and you as well, to turn into animals. That one was definitely a shock. I actually learned that by seeing him shift."

I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and smile at the man, liking him already. "Well I was taken first, and then he was experimented on and tortured. HYDRA kept him as a prisoner and used his lack of control of his abilities to their advantage. He sort of became an unwilling executioner. He's seen the ugliest parts of people, so that's all he sees."

"You have been through the same thing though, and you don't seem to have the same view."

"I've always believed that there's good in everyone just like there is bad. If you give people a chance they can surprise you with how good they can be. I may have seen people do horrible things, but I have seen how those horrible situations brought people together. The good outweighs the bad."

Khari nods. "I feel the same way. You know, Alex keeps telling me I sound like you when I talk. Now I can see why."

"My brother may not be very open, but I can tell he likes you. He's never stuck around anyone like this before, or depended on them like this. Besides me."

Khari turns his face away slightly, trying to hide the grin that spread over his face. He turns back to me, and I can't help but grin back. "You are indeed everything he said about you."

"I hope he said good things."

"The best. Of all the times he's said how corrupt humanity is, he always states that you are the exception to that rule."

I glance over to my brother, smiling to myself. I turn back to Khari, my voice firmer as I ask: "I'm guessing your other tribe members aren't as open to outsiders as you are?"

He shakes his head. "No, but don't worry. I will make sure you all are protected. You have my word."

"Do you think there's any chance M'Baku will help us?"

Khari contemplates this for a moment. "Despite what most believe, M'Baku is a good man. I believe that he will help us."

"I don't doubt it. I just hope what we say will be enough to convince him."

"I hope it will. I have long hated the separation of our country, and so do many of my people. M'Baku doesn't share this hate, but I do know he does not want a maniac on the throne of Wakanda."

I nod to him, with he and I both growing silent after a moment. I hope he's right. I hope it will be enough. Because what will we do if he doesn't help us?

-

"So where are we going again?" Ross asks as we make our way up the mountain.

"We're taking the heart-shaped herb to Jabariland." Nakia answers, wrapping her cloak firmly around herself. I was grateful she managed to steal these, because I don't think any of us could have made it this far without the extra clothing.

Khari is lucky; he has the fur clothes and that long fur cloak. But he's given it up to Alex, who pulls it tighter around his neck. If Alex and I shifted then we could be warmer, but I don't think walking into M'Baku's throne room as wolves or bears will make a good impression.

Ross looks to Nakia in confusion. "Heart-shaped herb? What is that?"

Shuri, with her voice raw and her eyes puffy, answers him. "It gives whoever takes it heightened abilities."

"It's what made T'Challa so strong."

Ross looks over at Alex and me. "So like you two?"

"We got our abilities from a serum," I explain. "And that herb won't allow T'Challa to shape shift. It just gives him super speed, super strength. Abilities like that."

Ross looks confused. "I saw your brother kick a door in half like it was paper."

"Alex and I get heightened abilities from the animals we shift into. So we also have super strength and speed, among other things."

Ross shakes his head. "Superpowers are confusing."

I brush some of my hair back, letting out a chuckle. "Trust me, they're confusing to the people who have them too."

Ramonda slows her pace. "Nakia," She says, her voice growing in worry. Nakia walks over to her and says sternly. "I don't like this. The herb belongs to us. We may be creating a bigger monster with M'Baku. Nakia, you should take it yourself."

"I am a spy with no army. I wouldn't stand a chance."

Khari approaches the queen mother and gives her a soft smile. "M'Baku is a man of honor and he cares about his people. I believe we have a chance."

Ramonda sighs, nodding her head. "We'll go."

We continue on up the mountain path. I link my arm with Alex's trying to warm us up as we walk. Suddnely I stop walking, sensing people are close by, Alex senses it too. The others look to us in confusion, but this soon fades as Jabari guards surround us. Khari looks around and says to us firmly: "Don't say a word."

As the Jabari surround us, they stare at the six of us for a moment before settling on Khari.

One of the Jabari walks up to Khari, starting to speak to him in Xhosa. I really need to learn this language, it will make living here far easier. They speak for a few minutes, but Khari turns back to us with the other Jabari beginning to walk up the mountain.

"They will take us to M'Baku." He says, gesturing for us to continue walking. I glance up at Alex, who is starring at Khari in something that resembles pride. It makes me smile, forgetting how cold I am for a few moments.

Once we make it up the mountain, we enter into Jabariland. I don't know what I was expecting when I first heard of the Jabari tribe, but I had no idea it would be so beautiful. The mountains are connecting by wooden bridges, with houses and buildings of wood and glass built into the mountain sides. The whole city is lit by torches, their glow hitting the snow around it. It makes Jabariland more beautiful than any city I've seen, apart from Wakanda.

Khari and the other Jabari lead us to the biggest building in the mountains. A large gorilla statue made of some kind of metal holds part of the structure up, where I assume M'Baku resides. As the Jabari usher us upstairs, they allow Khari to lead us the rest of the way; down a hallway lit now by small lights built into the walls. At the end of the hall is a long open room, with a throne at the end of it.

Sitting in a throne at the end of the room is M'Baku, who is flanked by two guards and has one hand on his upright spear. I can't help but find even this room, where the fate of Wakanda will be decided, absolutely beautiful; with the walls being made of dangling pieces of wood attached to strings, swaying slightly in the wind.

Khari kneels in front of his leader, his spear pressed upward on the floor like M'Baku's.

The man-ape scans each of our faces, landing last on Khari. With a voice as deep as I remember it being, he says: "Commander Chikere, what have you brought for me today?"


	15. Jabariland

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I watch Khari lift his head before standing up and looking firmly at his leader. "I have brought to you the queen mother Ramonda, the princess Shuri, Everett Ross, and Alexander and Soroya Roberts."

M'Baku nods his head to Khari. He takes that as his queue to step back, glancing at Alex as he does so.

The queen mother steps forward, her voice wavering slightly. "My son...was murdered in ritual combat."

"Were the odds fair?" M'Baku asks.

"Yes, but—"

"So it was less a murder than a defeat."

Shuri grows angry as she says: "Do not rub our noses in it!"

"Silence! I make the pronouncements here, girl." He says. I don't like the way he talks down to her, but I keep my mouth shut, knowing we need to persuade him not lecture him.

Ross steps forward next. "Look, uh, your highness, the new king is a U.S.—"

M'Baku grunts, and once Ross starts to talk again, he and the other guards grunt also. This is similar to what they did during the first challenge day, like they did when they found us on the mountain path. Khari does not join in on these grunts. He gives Ross a sympathetic look.

"You cannot talk! One more word and I will feed you to my children."

Ross looks deathly pale at this threat. I look to Khari to see if he means that threat, but he just shakes his head, giving me a look telling me to relax.

M'Baku confirms this moments later. "I'm kidding. We are vegetarians." He says, beginning to laugh. None of us join him, especially Khari, who doesn't find any of this amusing.

Now it's Nakia's turn. "Great Gorilla M'Baku!" She says, stepping forward and kneeling down, showing the small herb in her hands. "This is why we are here; to offer this to you. An outsider sits on our throne, only you can help us stop him."

All of the amusement drains from M'Baku's face. He looks away from Nakia, contemplating something, but he doesn't do it for long. He stands up out of his throne. I watch as Ramonda kneels down to the ground, then Shuri. I tug on Alex's arm and bring him down to kneel with me, and lastly Ross follows.

"Come with me." M'Baku says, walking past us. Ross, Shuri, and the queen mother follow immediately. Nakia and I are left in shock, sharing a look of confusion as we follow after them. I look over my shoulder and see Khari walk alongside Alex, the two sharing small smiles.

We follow M'Baku around the other side of the mountain, along a path lit by open flames. Nakia and I walk with our arms linked, watching the royals in front of us like hawks as we all follow after the man-ape. Khari still walks next to Alex, and I turn my head to whisper to him: "Where are we going?"

"This is where we have our medicine. It's a special snow we use to heal the wounded and sick."

I tuck some of my hair away, feeling more confused. "Why would he be taking us there?"

"I know as much as you, Soroya." He says. In his voice I can tell he wishes that weren't the case. I'm finding I like Khari more and more every time he speaks. And from what I can see, so does Alex.

The building the path leads to is guarded on either side of the entrance, and as we enter through it, I can see how it's dimly lit red from the dark wood they use.

I hear Ramonda gasp. Nakia and I both look to the body lying in the snow in the middle of the room: T'Challa.

All of us rush to him, with Shuri and the queen mother in tears and Nakia and I close to them. Ramonda touches his head, with Nakia, Shuri, and I gently touching his arm. He's so cold.

"Is he breathing?" Nakia asks, her voice thick with tears.

"He's in a coma. Barely clinging to life," M'Baku says. Khari and Alex are standing next to him along with Ross. I can see in Khari's eyes the look of happiness that he was right about his leader: M'Baku is an honorable man. "One of our fisherman found him at the edge of the river border. He brought him to me."

"Why do you have him in the snow?" Shuri demanded.

"It is the only thing keeping him from joining the ancestors."

Shuri looks frantic. "We need to get him to my lab, I can heal him there!"

"Take him. He'll be dead in seconds." M'Baku says.

"Nakia, the herb." Ramonda says. Nakia pulls the purple herb out, placing it in Ramonda's hands. She begins to grind it up in a bowl. Once it's a liquid, she holds it above T'Challa and speaks loudly.

"I call upon the ancestors. I call upon Bast." she says closing her eyes, the other two follow her lead. I decide to stand, walking over towards Khari and my brother, knowing this is something for them to do alone. I grip Alex's hand tightly, feeling my other hand be gripped by Khari.

"I am here with my son, T'Challa," Ramonda continues. "Heal him." She says, bringing the liquid to his lips, and letting it go down his throat.

"We must bury him," she says. "Cover him. Cover him!" I watch as the three of them cover T'Challa from head to toe in the snow, beginning to chant something in Xhosa.

Khari drops his voice to a whisper. "What god do you worship?"

Even in a time like this, Alex just can't help himself. "After being tortured in catholic school our whole childhood, I would say that god."

"Well pray to him now. Your king needs it."

"Wake up, T'Challa. Wake up." Nakia whispers, half in hope, half in plea.

A few moments later, T'Challa bursts from the snow, breathing heavily. I watch as Ramonda, Shuri, and Nakia cover him in hugs. I don't join them though, I stand back and let them have their moment. Instead, I share my joy and relief with Alex and Khari, who both smile widely at me and squeeze my hands.

I look over at Ross, who looks relived. Even M'Baku nods in happiness.

T'Challa looks around at all of us and smiles, shivering. "Can someone get me a blanket?"

-

A few hours later, after T'Challa got some rest, we all met back in the throne room. Some benches I hadn't noticed before, lie on the edge of the throne room. T'Challa sits on one of them, with Ross and Nakia standing next to him. Across from them, Alex, Khari, Shuri and I all sit together. Ramonda is on the next bench over, starring at her son like she's afraid he's just apart of her imagination, like he could disappear at any moment.

"Killmonger has the full support of our military," Nakia says, hesitating before also saying: "And he burned the garden of the heart-shaped herb."

"Of course he did," Ross says. "That's what we was trained to do. His unit used to work with the CIA to destabilize foreign countries. They would always strike at transitions of power."

I nod my head, looking between the agent and the king. "Yeah like an election year, or the death of a monarch. You sneak in, take control of the government, the military..."

"Our resources." T'Challa finishes.

"Exactly," I say, feeling even greater pity and sorrow for the broken man sitting on T'Challa's throne. "He said during the challenge he had trained his whole life for this. He was right, this was like a walk in the park for him."

T'Challa sighs. "The Great Mound."

Shuri does too. "Our vibranium, all of my designs."

"He will send our weapons all over the world." T'Challa says. All of us share a look of anxiety, knowing that this has to be stopped as soon as possible.

T'Challa stands up, pointing to his mother and sister, but looking at Nakia. "You must get them out of Wakanda safely."

Ramonda objects and Shuri asks: "What about you?"

"The challenge will have to continue." T'Challa says.

Ramonda stands, firm in her words as she says: "T'Challa, we will not leave Wakanda."

"It is my duty to keep you safe."

Shuri stands up now. "If he gets control of our technology, nowhere will be safe," She says, walking towards her brother, placing the panther claw necklace around his neck. "The Black Panther lives. And when he fights for the fate of Wakanda I will be right there beside him."

I've never been more proud of Shuri in this moment. Neither has T'Challa.

"As will I." Nakia says.

"I'm in, too," Ross says. All of us look to him, but he smiles softly. "What? You're gonna need all the help you can get."

I walk up to T'Challa and hold onto one of his hands, feeling him squeeze mine tightly. "I will fight by your side, if you'll have me."

T'Challa smiles at me widely. "It would be my honor."

Alex appears by my side, nodding in respect to the king. "You have me too."

I look up and smile at my brother. When I look back, I see T'Challa is too.

We all hear an obnoxiously loud yawn. We all turn to M'Baku, who shakes his head at us. "Are you done? Seriously, are you done?"

T'Challa doesn't look amused. "Could you give me and lord M'Baku a moment?"

M'Baku sighs, nodding to his men. All of us head into the hallway, including the Jabari guards and Khari. The other Jabari stand in front of us, making a door to block us from going back into the throne room.

We all know what T'Challa is going to ask him for, and it has us all waiting anxiously. I look to Khari, who this whole time has been starring at my brother. When Khari realizes I'm watching him, he looks slightly embarrassed and walks over towards me.

"I wish I could be in that room. I'm good at persuading people, I could reason with him—"

Khari touches my shoulder comfortingly. "I won't go down without a fight. If he disagrees, I promise I'll try to convince him."

"You think you can?"

"I'm good at persuading people, besides I have a few cards up my sleeve," he says, glancing back at my brother, who briefly meets his gaze and then quickly looks away.

I lean toward Khari, dropping my voice. "Give it time. He'll come around."

Khari doesn't try to deny what I'm implying. "You think so?"

I brush my hair away, nodding firmly. "I know so."

After a few moments, T'Challa reappears, looking distressed. He and I share a look and I know things didn't go the way we wanted them to.

"He said no?" Nakia asks, also picking up on the look on T'Challa's face.

"He will not help us, but he did say that my mother could stay here," he says, turning to Ramonda. "You'll be safe here. He gave me his word."

Khari looks angry. So angry in fact, he shoves past the other guards and marches back into the throne room. Alex follows after him. I find my legs running after them as well.

"Great Gorilla," Khari says, his voice forceful and determined. Alex and I stop by the entrance, watching Khari try to reason with him. "You are making a mistake."

M'Baku raises his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Yes it is. You challenged T'Challa for the throne because you felt like our traditional ways are better than their modern ways. You think that we are better than them and think you deserve the throne more. You say these things, but you are no better than they are. They have been doing the same thing to us for centuries. It has to stop," Khari says, taking a step towards his leader. "I know you are a good man, I have seen the honor you have. Killmonger will destroy Wakanda and the rest of the world in order to be on top. He is a tyrant and if you don't help them now, then you are no better than he is."

M'Baku has a mixture of anger, surprise, and pride on his face as he stares at Khari. "You are speaking out of line, Commander. You better watch yourself or—"

"Or what? You'll take away my job? I became a commander because I hoped to one day bring the Jabari and Wakandans together. I chose to fight for what I believe is right, and to defend the people who need defending. But if you truly aren't going to help, then the future I fought so hard for is already gone."

M'Baku's lips are pressed in a thin line. With a nod of his head he gestures towards the door. "Get out."

Khari turns away from the man-ape, gesturing with his head for us to follow. The others are waiting for us in the hall. T'Challa shows a sliver of hope on his face, but upon seeing mine, he knows we didn't change M'Baku's mind.

Khari bows his head to T'Challa, saying firmly: "M'Baku may not help you, but if you will allow it your majesty, I would like to."

T'Challa nods. "Thank you; for what you are willing to do for both our people."

Khari smiles widely. I realize he's probably never gotten recognition for what he believes in. I know what that's like.

T'Challa looks around at all of us: his family and his friends, saying with the voice of a leader, a king: "Let's go free Wakanda."


	16. The Black Panthers

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

We had a plan, and it was a good plan given the extreme odds stacked against us.

Shuri, Nakia, Ross, and Khari are currently sneaking into the lab, while Alex and I flank T'Challa on both sides. We walk across the field in front of the lab. As one of the jets carrying Wakanda's weapons begins to fly away, T'Challa sends a blast at it, sending it crashing to the ground.

Killmonger, the Border Tribe, and the Dora Milaje stand gawking at the unexpected disturbance. Walking over the crashed jet is T'Challa, standing for all of them to see with Alex and I by his side; shifted into the form of black panthers.

T'Challa brings his mask back, showing Killmonger and his army that he is indeed not dead. I plant my paws firmly on the destroyed ship and roar, with Alex joining in with me. I can see a smile form on T'Challa's face.

"N'Jadaka!" T'Challa yells.

Killmonger doesn't look to angry that he's alive. "Wassup?" He shouts back nonchalantly.

"I never yielded! And as you can see, I am not dead!" He says, his arms out wide, an invitation to the false king. As he starts to walk across the field, Alex and I are right by his side.

Killmonger doesn't take it. "All that challenge shit is over with. I'm king now," He turns to the Border Tribe and shouts: "Get those planes in the air! Carry out the mission!"

"Shuri, now." T'Challa says into the communicator. I thank god Shuri had perfected mine to last while in other forms so I can hear her reply: "Copy that."

An exchange happens between W'Kabi and Killmonger. I can see Okoye's face as she pleads to her husband, but W'Kabi turns to us and charges, with the Border Tribe on his heels. This was going to be painful, I didn't want to hurt any of them. But I had to, because Killmonger needs to be stopped.

T'Challa puts his mask back on and charges back at his former warriors. I look behind them and see Okoye pointing her spear at Killmonger. I begin running over to help her. As I'm making my way across the field, a Border Tribesmen tries to slash at me with his knife, but I pounce over him, sinking my teeth into the shoulder of another Tribesmen. Slashing my claws across the back of another warrior, I try to move quicker as I see Okoye send most of the Dora Milaje to fight for T'Challa. She and three others fight the now suited Killmonger alone.

I shift into a bird, just missing another attack from a Border Tribesmen. I fly over to Killmonger, shifting back into a panther and extending my claws out to attack. Killmonger is caught off guard by a panther falling out of the sky, so I manage to knock him over. I slash at his suit, but it does no good featuring its made of vibranium.

He pushes me off him and I fall next to Okoye's feet. I shift back into a human and she smiles down at me, kneeling down to allow one of the Dora Milaje to launch off her back and strike at Killmonger.

Spotting a spear lying on the grass a few feet away, I run over to grab it, seeing two Dora Milaje fighting Killmonger at once. I grip the spear as I sprint back towards them. Killmonger turns his attention to me as I strike at his head, but he blocks me, using his other weapon to fend off Okoye.

Together she and I strike at him again. I manage to just graze his torso, but he sends his knee into my stomach, sending me to the ground. I use the new angle to try and jab him, but he kicks at the spear and sends me toppling down the steps.

As I push myself back onto my feet, I hear a horn being blown. I look over to see W'Kabi blowing into a horn on a large rock. I then sense a new scent, the scent of an animal. Surely enough, from the crashed jets appears armored rhinos.

Shit. I almost move to go down towards them, but I see that Alex shifts into a rhino and jams his husk into the side of one of them. Since they're armored this does little, but that doesn't stop Alex. I can't take anymore time to feel proud of my brother, because I hear the desperate grunts of the Dora Milaje as Killmonger holds one of them beneath his knife. I rush up to them, but I'm too late, Killmonger slashes at her throat. The scream that erupts from Okoye is heart breaking.

I bring my spear up and use my strength to throw it at him. I would have made my mark if he hadn't hit it out of the way. I grab hold of the spear again and continue to strike at him along side the remaining Dora Milaje.

We manage to get all our spears around him and lock, beginning to electrocute him. I kick at his knee and it sends him down to the ground.

"Get the necklace!" Okoye shouts.

What I hadn't realized is that the kinetic energy has been building up in the suit. With a growl, Killmonger expels it, shooting all of us into the air and onto the ground yards away.

I shift into a Harpy Eagle just before I make impact. I manage to grab hold of Okoye's arm just before she makes contact with the grass, lowering her gently on the ground. I shift back into a human, looking around to see that the other Dora Milaje are alright.

I search for Alex, seeing that he's still running around as a rhino. T'Challa has jumped onto Alex's back and uses him as leverage to jump onto one of the armored ones, taking him down to the ground hard.

Khari is very close by, keeping any straggling Border Tribesmen at bay as Alex runs around.

Okoye nods to me and begins to fight the Tribesmen off. Out of the corner of my eye I see an armored rhino heading straight towards T'Challa. Since Alex is preoccupied, I rush towards him. I watch as the rhino manages to get T'Challa first, sending him flying through the air. I quickly shift back into the eagle and soar towards him, grabbing onto his arm with my talons and gripping him tightly, jerking a little as I try to set him down gently.

I shift back into a human, seeing that T'Challa looks slightly dazed, but despite this, he grabs my shoulder and nods. "Thanks, Soroya."

I nod back. "No problem." I say to him, shifting back into an eagle, flying back towards the fray. While in the air, I see Killmonger fighting Nakia and Shuri. I dive down towards them, grabbing onto a spear as I shift back. I charge up towards him, fighting side by side with Nakia.

Her weapon are these weird rings, so every time she pulls back to strike, that's when I attack with my spear. Given our numbers against him and my added strength and durability, we should easily beat him. But I think the heart shaped herb has more of a kick to it than my serum, because we are barely able to keep up with him.

Killmonger bends down and slashes at Nakia's leg, sending her flying the other direction. I swing my spear over my head and strike at his shoulder, but he maneuvers around the strike and kicks at my legs, which sends me down with a yell. He kicks at my side, sending me flying after Nakia.

I hit the steps to the lab hard, feeling my head spin as I try to get up. When I look to my right, I see Nakia isn't doing too well either. I know Shuri is still up there, so I try to move with every ounce of strength I have. I see T'Challa run past us, launching himself at Killmonger and sending them down into the lab.

I know how deep that fall is, so I'm relieved when I hear T'Challa ask to turn on the train on the bottom track.

"The stabilizers will deactivate your suit! You won't have protection!"

"Neither will he!"

I am confident T'Challa can handle Killmonger, especially with Shuri helping from up here. So, I help Nakia onto her feet and together we go back towards the fray.


	17. For The Future

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

One of the Tribesmen manage to slice my leg. With a load roar I tumble to the ground, yelling in agony as I feel myself shifting back into human form.

"Alex! Alex!" I hear Khari yell, as he slices through one of the warriors and falls to his knees by my side.

We both look down at my leg. The scratch isn't very deep, but it hurts like hell. I look into those hazel eyes and see the concern there, feeling rather touched. I wrap my arm around his shoulder, gesturing for him to help me up.

"I'm alright, I'm fine. Come on, they need us." I tell him as he wraps one arm around my waist and one around my chest, helping me to my feet.

Together we run back into the battle, where I spot my sister and the Dora Milaje about to be surrounded. Shifting back into a panther I jump over three of the Tribesmen, landing next to Soroya who has also shifted back into a panther. Khari makes his way towards us, slashing at a few more men. But despite our best efforts, the Border Tribe still surrounds us. We are trapped.

The Border Tribe can make shields from their capes, which to me doesn't make any sense, but what do I know? The shields grow closer and closer to us as W'Kabi, the bastard riding one of the accessorized knock off unicorns, shouts to us from behind the shields. "Surrender now! You have three seconds to lay down your weapons!"

Growling at the man, I watch him as he counts: "One! Two—"

W'Kabi cuts himself off because load grunting is coming from behind the Border Tribe. I sense a great number of people approaching, their adrenaline pumping hearts as loud as their chants. I look up at Khari and practically see tears in his eyes as M'Baku appears. He grabs onto the cloak of a Border Tribesmen, lifting him up on the rock where he stands, yelling: "Witness the might of the Jabari firsthand!" He throws the Tribesmen against the shields, then one by one the Tribesmen are ambushed by Jabari warriors coming in from behind.

Okoye and Nakia smile at M'Baku in relief and gratitude. Khari begins to grunt like the rest of them, his hand shot in the air in triumph. Soroya and I growl in unison, attacking the men now that their shields are down.

M'Baku jumps down from the rock and the other commanders run along side him as they join the fight. After biting into the neck of one of the Border Tribesmen, I look back at Khari, who is fighting back to back with M'Baku. Once again, he looks like a true leader.

As the fighting continues, Soroya attacks any Tribesmen getting too close to Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia, while I try to bite into anyone I can manage.

However, I keep glancing back at Khari to check if he's alright. I nearly get stabbed with a spear from how much he's distracting me. After slashing into another tribesman, I freeze where I stand. W'Kabi is on his rhino, running towards M'Baku and Khari at high speeds.

Growling loudly, I sprint towards Khari, pushing him out of the way before the rhino can reach him. I shift back into human form, finding us both lying down in the ground. Khari looks frantically back at M'Baku, but he is completely fine, because Okoye stands between the beast and M'Baku. I almost move to help her, but the rhino just licks her face like it's a dog.

"Put down your weapon!" She shouts. I don't know whether to help her or just stand by and watch the squabble of a married couple.

W'Kabi gets off his rhino and looks to his wife with genuine distress. "Would you kill me, my love?"

Okoye shares this distress, but doesn't falter in her determination. "For Wakanda? Without question." She says, her voice dropping to a whisper as she points her spear at her husband.

W'Kabi gets his weapon out, but takes a second to look at the scene around him. Nakia has a Tribesman beneath her feet, as does Shuri and Soroya, but they all notice the exchange between the two leaders. In fact, both the Jabari, remaining Dora Milaje, and the Tribesmen wait to see how W'Kabi will act.

Khari and I hold our breaths as we watch W'Kabi drop his weapon, sinking to his knees, starring at his wife in anguish.

This causes the other Tribesmen to drop their weapons, making me let out a sigh of relief. But we haven't won yet, T'Challa still needs to take care of Killmonger. I look over to Khari, who seems to have already been starring at me. He smiles in gratitude, his hazel eyes glowing from the light of the sun.

I find myself feeling slightly lightheaded as I look at him, but I don't know if it's because of him or because of the battle we were just apart of. I think both.

"Thank you," He says to me, his hazel eyes searching mine. "For saving my life."

I nod to him, pushing myself off the ground. I extend a hand out to him, feeling heat rush up my arm as he grabs hold of me.

Once I've helped him to his feet, I look over to Soroya, who is now in human form again. I run towards her, crushing her in a rib cracking embrace.

Soroya wraps her arms around me and squeezes me just as tightly. "Are you hurt at all?" She whispers to me in German.

I pull back from her, looking down at my leg. "Nothing the princess can't fix."

"Alright, I'll do it," Shuri says, walking up to us from behind. "But only because I'm in a good mood."

Shuri breaks into a smile and hugs my sister tightly, with Nakia joining in as well. I turn back to Okoye, who has now ordered the remaining Dora Milaje to take her husband into custody.

I can see how hard this is for Okoye, and so does Soroya, because she rushes over to her friend and clasps her hand gently with hers. I can see this gives Okoye some comfort.

From the lab, T'Challa reappears, looking tired and sorrowful, but alive and well. Killmonger is nowhere in sight. As he makes his way through us, the Border Tribesmen begin to bow their heads, and slowly the Jabari do too. T'Challa reaches all of us, looking each of us in the eyes: me, Okoye, Nakia, Shuri, Soroya, Khari, and M'Baku in the eyes, saying: "We won."

Shuri and Nakia launch themselves into T'Challa's arms. He enthusiastically hugs them back before letting them go and embracing Okoye and Soroya as well.

I turn my attention to Khari, who is looking at M'Baku with a look of gratitude.

"I knew you were a good man. I am so happy you decided to join us." Khari says.

M'Baku places his hand on Khari's shoulder. "I wouldn't have without you. You are a good man, Chikere, and because of that I want you to remain a warrior to the Jabari. But not as a Commander, but as a General."

Khari looks shocked and honored and excited all at once. He tries to contain all these emotions, simply pressing his hand to his heart and bowing his head. When M'Baku walks towards T'Challa and the others, Khari turns to me, saying with excitement: "I'm a General now!"

I nod, smiling at him. "It's very well deserved."

"With the new title and because of what happened here today, I am positive this is the start of a new era of Wakanda: where the Jabari are no longer separated," He says, stepping a bit closer to me. "You know, I could use some help."

I let out a slight chuckle. "You? I don't think 'The Young Lion' needs my help."

"Perhaps not need, but I want your help, Alex. So what do you say?" He says, extending his hand to me.

I stare at Khari for a moment, listening to a war inside my brain: between what I should do and what I want to do. Glancing back at my sister; seeing the love she surrounds herself with, I decide to go with the former. I do what I want to do.

I clasp his arm and nod my head. "I will. But I need to take mornings off because my sister will kill me if I skip another combat training lesson."

I turn back towards my sister, seeing the smile on her face. I couldn't be more proud of her. T'Challa, the true King of Wakanda, turns to his people and shouts: "Wakanda forever!"

And this time, Soroya and I shout it back too, as do the Jabari, like all of us aren't a divided people, but one.


	18. A Better Wakanda

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Walking through the hall of the palace, I feel so relieved to have my own room back again, to be back in these clothes. I have felt overwhelmed with happiness since we won Wakanda back. I celebrated our victory away from the others and down in Shuri's lab, with Bucky. God did I miss him. I wish I could tell him about our victory today, but I know I will get the chance to do so soon enough.

As I walk through the hall, I pass by Agent Ross, who is being escorted by two Dora Milaje. I stop next to Ross and smile at him. "Are you going back to America?"

He nods, smiling back at me. "Yes. I haven't contacted them in days and I need a plan on how to cover this whole deal up."

I take a deep breath and nod my head slowly. "Should I go pack my things?"

Ross looks at me with confusion.

"You said you would decide whether to bring me in or not. Have you decided?"

Ross takes a step forward and places his hand on my shoulder. "Your brother explained some things to me. He made me see that you are the farthest thing from a threat. This was clear after what I saw you do for T'Challa and his people."

"Alex talked to you?"

Ross nods. "And everything he said he was right about. So no, I won't take you or him in. And...I can't promise you anything, but I will try to get your name off the wanted list. So then you can live the life you want without the government on your tail."

This was the greatest gift anyone could ever give me. I grab onto Ross's other hand and squeeze it between mine. "Thank you...Everett."

Ross smiles at me again, patting my shoulder. I nod at the Dora Milaje and they continue their walk down the hall, with Ross close behind.

Quickening my pace, I make it to the throne room. When I walk in I see the council members, Okoye, Shuri, Ramonda, M'Baku, Alex, and Khari all standing around, looking as relieved as I am to be back.

I walk up to my brother, watching as he leans down to whisper to me: "This is cool. I've never been in here before."

"I'm happy you agreed to help Khari. He's a good man."

Alex glances over to Khari, smiling softly. "Yeah, yeah he is."

T'Challa walks through the doors, straightening his jacket and sitting back down on his throne, right where he belongs.

The council members and Okoye sit in their regular chairs, as does Shuri and the queen mother. M'Baku, Alex, Khari and I are left to stand, but I don't think any of us mind.

"Now that we have control of Wakanda again, there are things that have to change. Starting with the Jabari."

At that, M'Baku and Khari walk forward, standing in front of the king. "We have been separated for far too long."

M'Baku nods. "I agree."

"I want that separation to end today. From now on, you will have a seat on this council and your people access to anything Wakanda has to offer."

M'Baku thinks about this for a second. "You will not make us get rid of our traditional ways. We will accept the aid of your technology as needed, but we want to keep our way of life."

T'Challa nods. "The transition will be difficult, since our two people haven't been joined in centuries."

M'Baku, gestures to Khari. "That responsibility I will leave to my general. He is the right man for this."

Khari steps forward, bowing his head to T'Challa. "I propose creating a mode of transportation that will make it easier to travel from the mountains to here; one for supplies and one for people. I also think we should give some of the Jabari warriors the duties of the Border Tribe, considering the loss of numbers during the battle."

T'Challa smiles at Khari. "You and Shuri will work on the transportation. The Border Tribe duties shall be discussed between us and General Okoye. She is taking over for W'Kabi at this time."

M'Baku and Khari nod their heads, moving back towards where they stood before.

"The next move I want to make is to no longer be secluded from the rest of the world. I already talked with Agent Ross and he has agreed to help set up a meeting with the United Nations. I want to make this known to the world: that we are here to help."

None of the council members disagree, despite the fact I know they want to. With a small smile T'Challa shares with his sister, he stands, gesturing for her to follow him, and for me as well.

The council disbands, with some of them leaving right behind us and others staying, like Alex and Khari. Shuri and I try to keep up with T'Challa's pace as we walk through the hall.

"Where are we going?" Shuri asks.

"There's something I wanted to discuss with you, but it's better if you see it for yourself. It's a big responsibility, but I think you're up for the task."

I feel confused. "And what about me?"

T'Challa smiles at me. "I figured you could use a day off. You have been so wonderful to us here, but I feel like you should take one day to be normal."

Shuri and I glance at each other, more confused than ever. "Where are we going?" I ask this time.

We make it out the palace doors, seeing the jet open, waiting for us to enter it. T'Challa turns around to us and stares at us, walking backwards towards the jet as he says: "California."

Shuri gets very excited. She tugs on my arm, pulling me towards the ship faster. I absentmindedly touch the winged necklace around my neck, hearing T'Challa's words echo in my mind: 'take a day to be normal'.

I remember when I first got my powers, when HYDRA first took me. I wanted nothing more than to be normal again. To just have one day to be myself again. So I would do this for myself, to have a day where I'm not a shapeshifter, not an assassin, not The Savage, just Soroya.


	19. California

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"When you said you would take me to California for the first time I thought you meant Coachella or Disneyland. Why here?"

T'Challa took us to an abandoned building, which we have been starring at for the past few minutes behind the fence. The three of us are dressed in more Americans clothes, trying to blend in and not draw attention to ourselves. This is especially important since I am still technically a wanted person.

The clothes Shuri bought for me are much like the ones I stole while on the run with Bucky. These are more comfortable though since I could get something my style and more my size. I'm wearing a red baseball cap, a pair of dark jeans, a pair of ankle boots, the bracelet T'Challa bought me, and a shirt that says 'Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner'. Shuri is a good friend and knows me very well. This outfit is perfect.

T'Challa leans against the fence, starring at the building in front of us. "This is where our father killed our uncle."

Shuri and I glance at each other then at the building. "They're tearing it down," Shuri says, her voice more serious now. "Good."

"They're not tearing it down. I bought this building," T'Challa says, gesturing to the building. "And this one, and that one over there." Gesturing the buildings on either side.

T'Challa looks back to Shuri. "This will be the first Wakandan International Outreach Center. Nakia will oversee the social outreach. And you will spearhead the science and information exchange."

Shuri looks like a kid on Christmas. "You're kidding."

"Yeah?" T'Challa says, pressing on one of the Kimoyo Beads on his bracelet. Behind us appears a jet of her very own.

The boys who had been playing basketball near us all stare in awe at the jet, crowding around it and talking about selling the parts and making a shit ton of money. One of the kids approaches T'Challa and I, while Shuri tries to get rid of his friends.

"Is that thing yours? Who are you?" He asks T'Challa.

He and I share a glance. I smile at the little boy. "He's an alien. That's our spaceship."

The kid genuinely seems to believe me, but I just turn back to T'Challa and chuckle. The boy runs over to his friends and exclaims that we're aliens from outer space. The group gasps in wonder.

"She'll be a busy girl with making the transportation route to Jabariland and running things here." I say to him, watching Shuri goggle at her new toy.

"These buildings will take some time to get ready, so in the mean time she'll work on the transportation route. As well as the cure for your Sergeant Barnes."

I push my hair behind my ear, looking back at T'Challa. "You think she can really find something to help him?"

T'Challa wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. "I don't doubt it for a second."

I smile at him, wrapping my arm around his waist as well, our eyes still on Shuri. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

T'Challa begins to object, but I shake my head at him. "T'Challa I don't want everyday to be filled with peace and quiet. I want to help people, I want to use my abilities for good. Now tell me what I can do to help Wakanda."

T'Challa nods his head. "I have a feeling Okoye has a job for you in mind. But today is not about that, today is a day to have fun." He says, leading us towards Shuri and her new ship.

Shuri turns her attention away from her jet and back to us, smiling specifically at me. "I know just what we are going to do today."

T'Challa shakes his head at his sister. "Nothing too crazy, remember we have to be back by tonight."

"Don't worry, the crazy stuff will wait until she comes and visits me alone while I work here."

T'Challa rolls his eyes, pressing his bracelet and watching the stairs come down to the ground. We all climb inside, letting Shuri take the pilot seat. T'Challa sits in the back with me. I whisper to him: "I think we created a monster."

He chuckles. "I look forward to hearing about your adventures with her alone in California."

Shuri turns her head over her shoulder and glares at us, lifting us off the ground, kicking off a day away from the chaos.

-

The first place Shuri takes us is the ocean. I remember going to the Binz Beach in Rügen; the biggest of the islands off of Germany. I remember how beautiful it was, how Papa used to pick me up in his arms and spin me around while the waves crashed into us.

There used to be a picture in our living room of all four of us at the beach. As soon as I think of the picture I grow sad, remembering that any picture or belonging of my family's is probably thrown out or in some storage unit god knows where.

I try not to think of it though, I try to enjoy this moment with my friends. The beach was breathtakingly beautiful, and as the water touched my toes and the salty sea air hit my face, I felt overwhelmed. I couldn't believe I was here, able to enjoy something like this. I never thought I would get the chance to again after HYDRA.

We hadn't brought swim suits, so we didn't stay long. Shuri joked that I should turn into a shark and freak people out, but I decided against that.

Next, the two siblings took me to the mall, which I was very enthusiastic to go to. T'Challa was just as engaged during this part of the day as Shuri, because they both realized I hadn't been shopping in sixteen years.

The first few stores we went to I didn't find anything I liked, especially a store called Forever XXI which I thought had the tackiest clothes I've ever seen. I found two nice pairs of jeans at Aeropostale, and at a store called American Eagle I found two dresses with flower patterns I really liked. At a really odd store called Hot Topic I found a shirt for Alex: a Prince shirt that had the words 'Purple Rain' written across it, with his face below it at one of his concerts.

Also at the mall, I went into the bookstore and fulfilled my promise to myself and bought all seven Harry Potter books. I swear I am going to read all of them. Before we left, T'Challa and Shuri bought us delicious pretzels from a place called Auntie Anne's. Their cinnamon pretzels are some of the best things I've ever tasted.

Next they took me to Hollywood, which was a dream come true for me. Having grown up loving the golden age of Hollywood, being able to be in the place that created stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Bing Crosby, and of course Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, made me nearly cry.

Hollywood today is rather different from Hollywood back then, especially some of the weird people that roam the streets. The walk of fame was a sight to see. I found Fred Astaire's star, and it broke my heart to have to explain to Shuri who that was because she had no clue. Neither did T'Challa. I found Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe's as well. I would have looked for each old Hollywood star if Shuri and T'Challa hadn't pulled me away.

Since we were seeing the walk of fame they took me to the Chinese Theater too, where I actually squealed when I saw Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' hand prints in the cement. I couldn't help myself, I placed my hand in their prints. I have officially touched the same place two of the dancing icons of the 20th century touched. At the theater, T'Challa bought me a Marilyn Monroe hand print coaster and bought Shuri a Hollywood sign keychain.

Lastly, and it might be one of the best moments I've had in years, the two of them took me to a dance club. Now since this is 2016, I think it's safe to say every club on the planet has modern music. That includes the one we went to.

I didn't recognize any of the songs, except one that sounded like Brittany Spears. My ears about melted. I tried to get past my distaste for this era of music, but it was hard, especially since I have no clue how to dance to this sort of thing.

Shuri noticed me stiffly swaying back and forth. She gave her brother a look and the two started to teach me how. T'Challa grabbed onto one of my hands and Shuri grabbed the other. They started to move my arms around in a sort of circular motion, gesturing for me to look down at their feet. I do, and they seem to be moving their hips in a sort of shimmy while their feet step back and forth.

God has dancing changed. I went with it though and mimicked their movements, feeling sort of ridiculous. Eventually they let go of my arms and lifted them up, telling me to wave my arms in the air. I looked around the club and saw this is how everyone else was dancing, but it just seemed rather odd to me. Seeing T'Challa and Shuri laughing and enjoying themselves made the experience worth the embarrassment though. God knows I have missed dancing more than anything. Despite the music choice, I lost myself in the movement and rhythm of dancing. As I used to when I was young.

By the time we left the club the sun was beginning to set. We knew that it was time to head back home, back to Wakanda. We had left the jet parked on the hill behind the Hollywood sign. As we get back on board, with our bags in hand, I can't wipe the smile off my face.

T'Challa lets Shuri fly again. He watches me with curiosity as he sits next to me, searching my expression. "What is it?"

I sit there for a moment, just trying to process the day's events. "It's just strange."

"What's strange?"

"I never thought I'd get this again: choices, being able to decide what I do for the day, getting to decide where I stay and who I stay with. It's all so foreign to me now."

I can see the pity in T'Challa's face out of the corner of my eye. "I remember you saying you wanted to come with us to Korea because you wanted to figure out what you wanted to do with your life. Have you decided?"

I turn to him, nodding my head. "I can't stand by and not do my part to help others. I want to use my powers for good. I know it's what I'm meant to do. I think I've always known. I just never let myself hope for a life where I could choose this path, it just always was what it was."

"Everyone needs a day off, even kings and assassins," T'Challa says with a smile. "I want you every once in a while to take some time for yourself. You fight so others can be free to live their lives, but you also need to live yours."

"You're right, and today was a gift, one that I'm forever grateful for. Thank you, T'Challa...really, this meant the world to me."

T'Challa wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Of course, and I'm sure it will be the first of many once Shuri starts to work here."

"You can count on it!" Shuri shouts to us.

With a more serious look on my face, I look away from Shuri and back to T'Challa. "I know this is a difficult time with you repairing the damages from Killmonger and uniting your people with the Jabari. So I want to help as much as I can; whether that's helping Shuri with her tech, assisting Okoye, or helping you in some way."

"I appreciate that. I promise I will give you a task. I have a feeling you would go insane sitting in your room marking things off of Shuri's list."

I chuckle. "You're right. T'Challa...In the name of doing something for myself, I need your help with something."

"What is it?"

"I want to track down my family's possessions. I was thinking about it today when we were at the beach. I want to find what's rightfully Alex and mine. Now, all our things would have been given to the closest living family member we have. Our parent's will left everything to us and we obviously weren't there to collect them. My grandparents died and my father had no siblings, but I just remembered my mother did: a sister that I only met a few times. They weren't very close. She's the only one I can think of that would have our things. I want to go find out."

"Of course I will help you. What do you need?"

"A jet...and maybe one of the Dora Milaje as well in case we run into anyone unwanted."

"I'll have Okoye accompany you...I think she needs a break given what's happened. When do you want to leave?"

"Tomorrow if possible. I'll work with Shuri tonight to find out where my aunt lives," I say, grabbing onto T'Challa's hand that's still hanging around my shoulder. "I really do appre—"

He shakes his head. "Don't, Soroya. This is the least I can do after all that you have done for me and my country."

We're silent for the rest of the trip back. As we fly through the barrier and reenter Wakanda, I feel an odd mixture of sorrow and happiness. Thinking about the possibility that the lost items of my childhood are out there, it's almost too good to be true. I just hope I'm not getting my hopes up for nothing.


	20. The Chosen One

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"Where does she live again?" Alex asks me as we step onto the jet.

"Stuttgart. Apparently she married and divorced twice, had no kids and lives in a house by herself."

Alex sighs, strapping himself in. "We're in for a pleasant encounter. What do we even say? She thinks we're dead."

He has a point. We only met our mother's sister a couple times. I can't even remember what she looks or sounds like. I have no idea how this conversation will go. "I think we should be as vague as possible. Say we both were kidnapped and our parents went after us and we never saw them again. When we finally escaped we found out they died."

"She'll want proof of who we are."

"Well I'd give her my birth certificate but I think she has it. I'll just have to give her facts about our family only we would know."

Okoye silently walks past us and sits in the pilot seat, starting up the engine. I wish I could say something to make her feel better, but I feel like this is something she has to deal with alone. It was decided that W'Kabi would face a few years in prison for what he had done under Killmonger's rule. Okoye is taking it very hard.

Alex can sense this too. So he tries to continue on a conversation so the air doesn't get to uncomfortable. "What form of pop culture torture did Shuri subject you to last night?"

"Well she now knows I love dancing, so she's been giving me dancing movies to watch. I've loved all the ones so far: Step Up, Save the Last Dance, and Moulin Rouge, but she showed me a horrifying movie last night called Black Swan."

"Black Swan?"

"Yeah it's a movie about a ballet dancer who is a complete nutcase. Something that was interesting though is that there's an actor who looks just like Bucky in the movie."

"Really?"

"He could have been his twin..." I say trailing off, feeling my chest tighten.

Alex wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes me tightly, knowing how I'm feeling without me having to say it.

Once again I am dressed in more modern clothing; wearing one of the dresses I bought yesterday. Alex is wearing a pair of jeans and the Purple Rain shirt I got him. When I gave it to him, he told me he loved it and swore he would wear until it could stand on its own.

Shuri made sure to remind me to bring my iPod with us. Pulling the earbuds out I hand one to Alex, who eyes it suspiciously.

I shrug. "You need to be subjected to the pop culture torture eventually."

He rolls his eyes and pops in one of the earbuds. We listen to Katy Perry first, who I genuinely like, and is definitely one I will keep on this thing. I let Alex chose next and he chooses a band called Fall Out Boy. It's a modern rock band that Alex looses his mind over. We also listen to Maroon 5, which we both really like.

Okoye was silent the entire trip, only occasionally looking back at us to make sure we were alright. After a few hours we finally landed in Stuttgart, where I asked Okoye to stay with the ship for now. I told her I would alert her on her Kimoyo Beads when we needed her. I think she was happy to stay on the ship, probably not wanting to deal with our estranged relative. Some time away from Wakanda, and by herself, will be good for her. She gives me a reassuring smile as we walk down the steps onto the ground, but I can tell the smile is forced.

By the sigh Alex releases, it's evident he wishes he were back in the jet with her. "Let's get this over with."

We walk towards her house, which looks much smaller than I'd imagined. It's painted white with a sky blue door and window shutters. As we walk up onto the porch, I see that there's some potted flowers lining the house. From out here I can smell a familiar scent, one that reminds me strongly of Mama. This makes me more nervous. What if she looks just like her? What do I say? What will we do?

I use the bronze knocker to knock on the house, waiting in anticipation for a solid forty seconds. Just as I'm about to knock again, we hear the click of the lock. The door opens and reveals our aunt. Mira Kurt looks us up and down, clearly not seeing the resemblance in us that we see in her. She does look a lot like our mother; the same chocolate brown eyes, pointed nose and chin, with ringlets of brown hair falling to her shoulders. There are heavy bags under her eyes though, with little light in her face. She looks rather gaunt. It's like she hasn't had a good night sleep in years.

I feel my heart strain at the thought of Mama, at the clear resemblance they have. I know Alex has the same thoughts going through his mind, because he slips his hand into mine and squeezes it tightly.

"May I help you?" She asks, eyeing us suspiciously. She asks this question in German of course, and I have to say I relish any moment where I can speak in my native language.

I push some of my hair back, smiling at our aunt. "Are you Mira Kurt?"

"Yes. Who are you?"

"My name is Soroya Roberts and this is my brother Alex. We're your niece and nephew."

Mira's eyes go wide before she shakes her head. "My niece and nephew died. They went missing—"

"About sixteen year ago? Yes, that's true. We were kidnapped. But we're back now."

She still shakes her head. "They died with my sister and her husband. I don't know who you are but—"

"Listen," I say trying to keep a calm voice. "I can prove who we are. Our mother was Anika. I remember she told us that you both had a falling out when Grandpa died. But she still talked of you fondly. She told us a story about you both when you were girls; how Grandpa was having a really bad week at work, so the two of you decided to put on a show for him. You got into Grandma's makeup and clothes and dressed up like The Andrew Sisters and performed Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy for him. She remembered how he gave you such loud applause that you both felt like professional singers."

Mira stares at me in disbelief, but even she can't deny that only Anika's real daughter would know that story.

Mira looks to Alex. "And you, prove to me you're Anika's son."

Alex looks to me and then back to our aunt, letting out a deep breath. "Our mother every night would sing Moon River to us. It was the only way we could go to sleep. I once asked her why she sang it to us. She said it was because ever since she saw Breakfast at Tiffany's, she knew it was her favorite movie. She said she showed it to you and you loved it as well. She told me you always sang the song better than her, because you could play the guitar portion of it. She said you took lessons after you were first for introduced to Elvis Presley. Mama said no one loved Elvis more than her sister."

Mira doesn't give the reaction I expected her to, or any reaction really; she just opens her door wider and gestures for us to come in. The inside of her house is rather messy, with news papers and mail lying around everywhere. As I take in a deep breath I have to hold back a gasp. These are the times heightened senses aren't a good thing, because it's clear Mira hasn't cleaned in a while. I notice there are crosses and Virgin Mary's everywhere. These give me Catholic School flashbacks.

Mira sits down on her olive green couch, watching as Alex and I slowly sit in the two olive chairs across from her. The floor is hard wood that desperately needs a cleaning. The inside of the house is painted the same white as the outside. As I take in another deep breath, I sense she has at least a few dogs, and this is confirmed by the three blue dog beds lying about around the mess. We watch as our aunt looks back and forth between both of us for a good two minutes. It feels very uncomfortable.

"Why did you come here?" She asks silently.

"When our deaths were announced they must have sold our house and given our possessions away. Since you're our closest relative, we figured you would have them or know their location. Do you?"

Mira slowly nods. "The house sold for a fair price. I kept the money, it's in a bank account I haven't accessed in a long time. I didn't want to touch the money, it felt like it belonged to Anika...your stuff was given to me as well. It's um, in the basement. You're welcome to take it."

I glance at Alex, seeing the same look of concern in his eyes: I can't help myself as I ask her: "Is something the matter?"

Her voice sounds rather strained as she answers my question. "My niece and nephew show up out of nowhere after I thought they were dead, what do you think? Just answer me one thing; are your mother and father alive or are they really dead?"

"No they're...they're really dead."

"I won't let you leave until you tell me what really happened," she says, tears falling down her cheeks. "I never got a chance to make amends with my sister. Now that I have the chance, I want the closure. I want to know what happened."

Our mother did talk about her sister with fondness and never hostility. No matter what happened with them. I always just assumed Aunt Mira hated us because she never reached out, but seeing her wracked with regret makes me think otherwise.

I stand up and move to sit next to her, deciding against my decision earlier. I tell our aunt the truth: "I was kidnapped by an agency called HYDRA. They experimented on me and when they saw my potential, they wanted to use me to their advantage. They took our parents and Alex prisoner to use as leverage to make me do their bidding. Alex and our parents were experimented on as well. I didn't find Alex for fourteen years. When we tried to find our parents we couldn't save them. They died trying to protect us. But now that HYDRA has fallen, we wanted to do something for ourselves, starting with getting our belongings back. I'm sorry I didn't come here earlier and give you an explanation. It is something you deserve. I know...I know how this must all sound. It must sound crazy, but it's the truth."

Mira stares at me for a moment, not bothering to wipe her tears away. She looks over at Alex, who nods in agreement to what I have said. A few seconds pass before she begins to break down again.

"Did she die in pain?" She manages to get out.

I place a hand on hers, feeling my own tears threatening to spill out. I can see the regret and guilt that flows through her, and so I give her this kindness: I lie. "No, she didn't die in pain. And even though you both had fallen out, I know she loved you. She always talked about you with fondness and we always knew she missed you."

A small smile appears on her face. "Really?"

"Yes. I know she regretted not making amends too. More than anything."

Mira places her other hand over mine, patting it thoughtfully. "I'll need a moment to myself. Like I said, everything is in the basement in boxes."

She gets out of her seat, patting my hand gently again, before walking through the door I assume leads to the kitchen. Alex and I glance over at each other before we make our way towards a staircase that leads downstairs. The stairs creek under us as we descend them, but I can hardly hear it over the sneezing coming from Alex and me. This basement is filled with dust. Alex grumbles to himself; "I wish I could turn my blood hound nose off...either that or I wish our aunt would do a spring cleaning once in a while."

When we reach the bottom we find the basement is a large dark room filled to the brim with boxes. There is a light bulb dangling from the ceiling, and I tug on the string next to it to turn it on. It does little to lighten the room up. Thankfully, Alex and I can see well in the dark. Each box is labeled with a sharpie on what the box contains. In the back of the basement we find a large group of boxes labeled; Roberts. We assume that's our things.

I tie my hair back to get it out of my face before I take down one of the boxes in the pile. I open up the lid, feeling my breath catch in my chest. Inside the box are Alex and my old stuffed animals. I pick up the stuffed Winnie The Pooh doll, and despite the moldy smell and the dust covering the basement like a fog, I find it doesn't bother me anymore. All I can think of are the memories I have playing with this toy as a child. I feel the tears finally fall down my face. Alex comes to my side and stares down at the box with the same sorrow-filled nostalgia. He picks up his stuffed elephant and I see the tears filling his eyes as well.

Picking up another box, I find it filled with pictures. Seeing my mother's smile starring up at me, practically hearing my father's laugh through the memory the picture holds, I feel the sobs spill from my mouth. My brain wonders to the last moments I had with them. I don't often let it. It's far too painful.

I remember how hard the first few months after their deaths were. I told T'Challa the only way to get through the pain and grief is by keep moving forward. And that was true. I knew my parents wouldn't want me mourning them forever, they would want me to move on. But that task was, and still is, rather impossible. The only reason I got through it at all was because of Alex and Bucky. One night I remember waking up crying because I had a dream my parents had come back to be with us. It was a few nights after their deaths. Bucky held me the rest of the night while I sobbed into his shoulder. Thinking of Bucky only makes the pain I am feeling worse.

These past few weeks have been the strangest and most confusing of my life. Sitting here starring at the remains of my childhood, I realize how much was truly taken from me. I never got to go to Prom or to my High School Graduation, I never got to become a dancer and perform for the world like I had planned, I never got to watch my brother become a train engineer like he had always dreamed of doing. I never had a first kiss or first boyfriend. I could almost picture it: my parents cheering me on at my next recital, with Alex calling me from work telling me how proud he is. Maybe I would meet Bucky on the streets as a normal man, with a normal life, free of all his pain and suffering. We could have all been happy, we could have had a great life. It's a life that feels so out of reach yet so close. It's the life that could have easily been mine, except HYDRA flipped a coin and happened to pick me to be their lab rat.

My mind falls onto Harry Potter; he was thrust into an unknown world, his parents were murdered, a psychopath tried to kill him every second of his life, and he constantly had to live up to the expectations of being the chosen one. He was given a life filled with so much death and destruction, where so much and so many people were taken from him. But he wouldn't trade it for anything, because of all the good that came from that life. I feel the same way, especially now that I am here starring that lost life in the face. I would have been happy in that other life, but it doesn't mean I can't be happy in this one. It doesn't mean I haven't been happy already. This life has given me so much death, between my parents, Julian, and countless innocent lives. This life has also robbed me of so many opportunities I could have had. But this life also gave me experience and knowledge, it gave me my brother back, it gave me Wakanda and all my friends there, it gave me Bucky. But most importantly it gave me the chance to be a hero, to make the world a better place. That alone is worth all the pain I've endured.

I glance up at Alex, who is currently starring down at one of Papa's old watches. He wipes his eyes, giving me a small smile, one that assures me he'll be okay. That we'll both be okay.

I press on my Kimoyo Bead bracelet. "Okoye? We're ready to start loading the jet. Just make sure to be nice, our aunt will freak out if you point a spear at her." I say, before shutting the lid of the box and grabbing onto another one to load.


	21. The Graves

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

We both help Okoye load the boxes onto the jet. Of course, any of our old furniture has been sold along with most of our clothes. Our family pictures, Soroya and my old toys, Mama's jewelry, Papa's watch collection, their entire collection of old movies, vintage records, Soroya's dancing shoes and uniforms, Mama's wedding dress, and an entire box of old video cameras. That is all that remains of our old life.

There's also a box with documents in it; our birth certificates, Mama and Papa's drivers licenses and birth certificates, their will, and a pamphlet for our funeral. Apparently in Hamburg there are tomb stones for all four of us. I stare at the pamphlet, reading the names of our parents over and over again. I walk over towards Soroya, whose talking to Mira next to the jet.

"There's something I want to do before we go back," I tell her. She nods her head, bringing us over a few feet to talk in private. "I want to go to our graves."

She creases her eyebrows in confusion. I hand her the pamphlet for our funeral. Her shoulders slightly slump, and when she looks back up at me, she nods her head. We never got to properly say goodbye to our parents; we never got to bury them or give them a funeral. Mira said she needed closure for what happened to our parents. This just might be the closure both of us surely need.

We walk back up to Aunt Mira, who smiles softly at us, handing us a check. "While you guys were loading that...that thing...I went to the bank a few blocks from here and cashed the check. That money belongs to you."

Soroya and I glance down at the check. It's 569,000 euros.

"Holy shit," I exclaim. I can't help but smile at our aunt. "Thank you."

She nods, glancing between us and Okoye. "Be safe...I hope you find the life you both are looking for."

I nod to her and make my way towards the ship, but Soroya leans in and hugs our aunt. She looks a little taken back, before wrapping her arms around her and patting her back thoughtfully. Soroya pulls back and smiles at Mira. "Thank you for keeping our childhood safe."

She nods. "Of course."

Soroya makes her way back to the jet and the two of us climb in. As Okoye walks past us, Soroya stops her. "We want to make one more stop. We want to visit our parents graves."

Okoye nods sadly, squeezing her friend's hand before getting back into the pilot's seat, lifting us off the ground. Soroya and I watch through the window as we fly away from Mira. We see her shyly wave at us. We can't help but wave back.

-

It's a weird feeling being back in Hamburg. In many ways it feels exactly the way it did eighteen years ago, but in many ways it's different. I can still smell the Elbe River that runs through the city, hear the horns blowing from the boats as they sail by. The buildings look the same, though slightly less extravagant since I'm not as small.

We lived in Wilhelmsberg, which is just outside the main city of Hamburg. Okoye lands a few blocks from where we used to live. Soroya and I insisted on going to see it, even though it may not be our house anymore.

We stand on the sidewalk outside of our childhood home, where instead of Papa's black Sedan, there is a bright red Volvo sitting in the driveway. The windowsills are no longer painted white, but now are an olive green, which looks odd against the cream painted walls. We glance through one of the open windows and see that the flower wallpaper is still there. Whoever lives in this house finally got rid of the ugly yellow curtains Mama always loved. Part of me feels sad about this despite the fact I always hated them.

Soroya links her arm around mine, letting out a shaky sigh. "Is it just me or do you feel like you're twelve again?"

I nod. "It isn't just you," I say, not being able to peel my eyes away from the house. "I remember coming home from school everyday and from even out here I could hear the record they were playing. It used to drive me crazy. I thought the 30's songs they insisted on listening to were annoying."

Soroya laughs lightly. "I remember that. On my tenth birthday when I came home from school they were playing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for me. Mrs. Lilian stormed over and complained about the noise."

I smile slightly, remembering that day perfectly. Our neighbor Mrs. Lillian was so angry about how loud Mana and Papa were playing it. That song got stuck inside my head for a solid week. I find myself mumbling it now: "You like potato and I like potahto, like tomato and I like tomahto. Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto. Let's call the whole thing off."

Soroya wipes a silent tear away. "I wonder what happened to our rooms."

"By the looks of that car and what I can see through the window, I think the people who live here are old. I would think our rooms are used for storage, or worse. They could be those old people who wear spandex workout clothes and turned our place of childhood playtime into a place for their ass sweat."

Soroya lets out a chuckle and I find myself chuckling too. After a few more moments we walk away from the house, from the place we once called home, and we walk towards the cemetery.

The cemetery is a block from our house. Since we live in a rather older section of town, everything feels about five minutes away from where you live. I remember passing by the cemetery as a child and asking why they made one so close to where people lived. Papa told me it was for the people who lose their loved ones, so they can have them close by them and never truly have to say goodbye.

We knew that was where our graves would be, next to our childhood home. Once we reach the cemetery, we open the gate and walk towards the end rows. Given that the graves are placed in alphabetical order, we find four stones lying next to each other in the fourth to last row:

**ANIKA MARIANNE ROBERTS**  
 _loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend_  
 **Born:** August 12th, 1962  
 **Died:** September 16th, 2001

 **JOSEPH ALEXANDER ROBERTS**  
 _loving husband, father, son, and friend_  
 **Born:** May 3rd, 1958  
 **Died:** September 16th, 2001

 **SOROYA MAGDALENA ROBERTS**  
 _loving daughter, sister, and friend_  
 **Born:** April 20th, 1988  
 **Died:** September 16th, 2001

 **ALEXANDER THOMAS ROBERTS**  
 _loving son, brother, and friend_  
 **Born:** January 23rd, 1986  
 **Died:** September 16th, 2001

I look over at Soroya. "They must have made our death dates the day they stopped looking for us."

She shakes her head. "They didn't stop looking. I guarantee there are bodies buried under here. HYDRA would have made it look like some freak accident. They wouldn't leave anything to chance."

We both stay silent for several long minutes, trying to honor Mama and Papa. We try to pretend that we got the chance to bury them, to put them to rest and not leave them in the base they had been kept in for so long.

My mind jumps back to those photos we had looked at. I remember all that was taken from my sister and me. I feel like I could grab the life we both deserved, but every time I try I end up empty handed. For most of my life that's how it's been; life just takes and takes and therefore people do the same.

I feel a sinking in my stomach at the last part of that thought. I don't know if I've just wanted to get this off my chest or I feel like for the first time in years, our parents are here with us right now. So with a deep breath, I tell Soroya how I've been feeling.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about Killmonger. Ever since you told me what had happened to him...I've felt so many conflicting emotions."

Soroya nods, listening to me with her eyes still glued to our parents graves. "I know how you feel. I've felt so much pity for him, he wasn't all that different from us. I wish we could have changed his mind."

"You're right. He was like us, but me pitying him isn't why he's been on my mind," I say, taking a deep breath. "I can't help thinking how similar he and I are. How if things had been different...or even now, I could cross the line and become just like him."

This makes Soroya's eyes snap from the graves to me, looking at me like I just told her the sky was purple. "You would never be like him—"

"That's not true. I mean sure the similarities between all three of us are there: our parents were killed, we were thrown into a life we didn't ask for, we all became killing machines. But you never lost sight of who you are, you never let those monsters change you. I let them change me."

"That's not your fault—"

"Killmonger was so angry at the world, not just for what it did to him, but because he saw the ugliest sides of humanity and wanted to punish them for it. He thought they didn't deserve the freedom they had. And because of that he went through life alone, because he felt he only had himself to rely on. And...I have stayed up at night thinking about that; thinking about how he sounds so much like me."

Soroya doesn't say anything because she can sense I have more to say, so she just waits quietly and slips her fingers through mine.

"I always gave you a hard time for seeing the best in people and being as optimistic as you are. I just thought you were signing yourselves up for a life of pain. Because from what I saw the world and people in did nothing but take. But as I've paid more attention to you and Khari I've had to look at it from a new perspective. Those beliefs are why HYDRA didn't change you, why you're the great person you are. That both of you are. You've seen the uglier side of people but you've also seen the good that comes out of it. You've given people the chance to change or to be their better selves. I asked Khari why he was so open to getting disappointed and hurt like that. He said it was because that's part of life," I say, and as I talk I feel my throat begin to tighten and my eyes water.

"Seeing you make all these new friends and seeing Khari be surrounded by people he inspires, it made me realize how alone I've been my whole life. By wanting to save myself from pain, I've punished people for what's been done to me. I've been assuming everyone is just as bad as HYDRA. Killmonger didn't have anyone by his side, he was alone and he didn't have anyone who loved him. That's what made him into the tyrant he was. If he had someone to make him see another viewpoint, maybe he wouldn't have ended up like he did. I know I'll never be like you or Khari, but I know I'm done punishing the world and people for what's been done to me. Because I'd rather get hurt by every person I meet than end up like that man."

I haven't been looking at Soroya, but I do now, and I see a mixture of heartbreak and pride in her eyes. "That right there is exactly why you are nothing like Killmonger," she says, leaning up to cup my face in her hands. "You're a good person, Alex. And I know you don't believe it, but you would have never ended up like Killmonger."

I shake my head. I watch as she brushes a tear off my cheek. "I might have, if I didn't have you by my side."

Soroya's lip quivers and she nods her head. "You're right that Killmonger might not have ended up like he did if he had love surrounding him. And you know, even though Mama and Papa are gone they're still with us. They're with us everyday. And no matter what happens, we will always have each other. You never have to worry about stepping over that line, because it's impossible."

Feeling it growing harder and harder to breath, I wrap my arms around my sister and feel the tears coming out faster. She wraps her arms around me as well and silently rubs my back. I hear her silently hum something, and I can't help but smile when I register she's humming Moon River to me. We stay there for several moments, just the two of us holding each other.

I pull away from her after a while, glancing back down at the graves. "I wish you were really down there. I wish we could have given you a proper burial. But I have a feeling you're listening anyways," I say, sniffling slightly. "I want you to know that we're going to be alright. And that we will carry you with us everyday."

Soroya nods, wiping her nose. "Everyday." She repeats.

Both of our Kimoyo Bead bracelets beep, and we glance at each other, knowing it's time to head back to Wakanda. With one last look at our graves, at our parents graves, we walk out of the cemetery hand in hand. Both of us are feeling a new found sense of purpose in the world, having finally made piece with the past and left it buried under our tombstones.


	22. New Positions

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Soroya talks silently with Okoye on our way back to Wakanda. I can tell she's asking how Okoye has been holding up since the arresting of her husband. It's clear how torn she is; between wanting justice for what he did during Killmonger's reign of terror and the love she has for her him.

I figured any words of sympathy from me wouldn't bode well, so I stole Soroya's iPod and listened to some music. Fall Out Boy is amazing and as I scrolled through the library Shuri gave her, I found that I really enjoy My Chemical Romance as well. If there's one thing that the 21st century is doing right, it's rock music.

After talking with Okoye, Soroya comes back over to me and listens to the music as well, but I can tell she hates it.

When we reach Wakanda, in front of the palace waiting for us are T'Challa, Shuri, Khari, and the other Dora Milaje. Soroya carries a box off the jet and one of the Dora's takes it from her, gesturing for the others to help the general get the rest and take them to our rooms.

Soroya and I walk up to the king and princess, who look pleased to see my sister again, but only give me a nod of acknowledgment. They ask her how the visit with our aunt went. I let her explain it to them, while I move over to talk to Khari.

He smiles at me widely. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't missed that smile over the last few hours. "How was it?"

Before we left, I finally told Khari what happened to our parents and what we were about to go do. I felt it was time to try to let him know me better, however hard that task might be. "We got everything from our aunt and we even found out they had a funeral for us."

"Must have been quite the ceremony."

I scoff. "Yeah I know. But they have graves for all of us, including our parents, so it was nice to finally...finally get to say goodbye."

Khari places a hand on my shoulder. "I am sorry, Alex."

I nod to him. "I'll be fine...what's been going on here?"

Khari's smile returns and Shuri starts to join the conversation. She forces a smile my direction. "I have been making some designs for the new transportation route between Jabariland and the city. General Chikere says you plan on helping?"

I nod to her, forcing a smile as well. "What plans do you have in mind." I ask. Shuri looks to her brother, who gives her a nod, and with that she starts to lead us towards her lab.

"The General told me of the secret entrance in the mountain, one you have seen, and I plan to make that the entrance to the station. The station here will be in the field near the lake, right outside the city."

I crease my eyebrows. "Station?"

"I plan on the transportation being by train."

And all of the sudden, I am an eight year old boy; running around my house with the tools I stole from Papa, making and tearing apart my own toy trains. "I am definitely the man to help you."

Shuri raises her eyebrows. "Oh really? Why is that?"

"Because for fourteen years of my life I wanted to be a train engineer."

Shuri lets out a laugh. "Wow. What a coincidence." She says, a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

I turn to Khari. "Are you going to be helping make trains?"

Khari shakes his head. "M'Baku put me in charge of the whole operation, so I'll be overseeing the trains as well as the merging responsibilities of our armies. I'll be going back and forth."

I smile, and this one isn't forced. "This suits you."

"What suits me?"

"Being a leader."

Khari glances away, a small smile on his face, before turning back to me. "So, you really wanted to be a train engineer?"

I nod, feeling like today has just been a day of nostalgia. "I did, yeah. Ever since I can remember I wanted to do nothing else but play with my toy trains. I would take my father's tools and tear the toys apart and try to put them back together."

"Did you succeed?"

"After breaking fifty toys I eventually figured it out," I say, remembering how angry Papa used to get over my broken trains. "I swear childhood me would be cheering with glee right now."

"We'll be prepared," Shuri says eyeing me. "I need all hands on deck, so I'll be putting you to work."

"Yes ma'am." I say, and this is when her dislike of me really shines through.

"Don't call me 'ma'am'."

I lean towards Khari. "And I thought we were getting along."

Khari shakes his head at me, but a hint of a smile shows through, and that makes the comment worth it.

-

**Soroya**

"I'm worried about her," I tell T'Challa as we take a walk through the market. "She was quiet the whole trip."

"Did you talk to her at all?"

I nod. "On the way back home she told me she knows he needs to pay for what he did when Killmonger ruled, but W'Kabi is also her husband. She loves him."

T'Challa nods. "I know how she feels. He was my best friend..."

"Has preparations for the merging of Jabariland and Wakanda gone smoothly?"

He shakes his head. "Not yet. There is so much to be done, so many years of division between us," he says, and I can really see how stressed out he is. "But tell me, what items of yours did you recover?"

"All of our family photos, our toys, my mother's jewelry, our documents. We found everything we needed. But we also took a trip back to Hamburg, because apparently there's graves for all of us there."

T'Challa raises a brow. "Even for you and Alex?"

"Well I assume HYDRA covered up our disappearance. Probably made it seem like just an accident. Our aunt was really freaked out when she saw us. I would think it's for that reason."

"Were you finally able to say goodbye?"

I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, smiling softly. "I really did. I think one of the hardest parts about losing my parents was the lack of closure. We never got to bury them, or truly honor the sacrifice they made for us..."

"I don't know how I can have closure now," T'Challa says sadly. "After what he did...how can I think of him the same way again?"

"I agree he did a terrible thing, but one mistake doesn't make a person bad."

"I can't bring myself to forgive him. He left a child alone, he left him to become a monster."

"It will be hard to get past. I can't imagine having to deal with having that knowledge about my father, but I'm sure you'll move past it."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because your father was a good man," I say, linking my arm with his. "And you love him. Family forgives each other no matter what."

T'Challa squeezes my arm. "Your kind heart still amazes me. Which is exactly why I am appointing you to help Okoye deal with the merging of our armies."

My eyes grow wide. "Seriously?"

He nods. "You said you wanted to help and Okoye is more than thrilled to have you by her side."

"I appreciate the responsibility, T'Challa. I promise I'll do my best."

"I know you will. Now tell me, what music did Shuri assign you on the trip?"

I let out a noise of disgust. "I had to endure hours of Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance."

T'Challa gives me a shocked look. "For Bast sake, you're very picky with music. What music do you like?"

"I love any music from the 20's through the 60's. Alex is a hardcore 70's, 80's, and 90's fan. He loved the music we listened to today, which makes sense since they're rock bands."

T'Challa lets out a laugh. "At least you liked Beyoncé. I think Shuri would have killed you if you didn't."

I laugh as well. "She warned me before hand. Who knew Beyoncé fans could be out for blood?"


	23. Brainstorming

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Today was my first day of working with Okoye. We met the Jabari warriors, led by Khari, just at the border. The amount of Border Tribesmen left from Killmonger's reign was down to about a third of what it once was. So, Khari and I were in charge of selecting Jabari warriors to pick up the duties of the missing members.

A lot of the people living near the border didn't like the Jabari being so close. Khari and I could sense that, so we set up a small gathering to allow the Wakandans to meet some of the Jabari. It helped that Khari was there, since he was the leader of the entire Jabari army. Once people saw how warm and friendly he was, they were less scared of the others.

Okoye and the other Dora Milaje helped teach the Jabari about our weapons once they got their new positions on the border. I can tell she enjoys the job, probably welcoming any distraction.

We quickly formed a routine; go to the next border position, pick Jabari warriors, try to relax the Wakandans, then let Okoye teach them about weapons. At the third border position, while the other Jabari were interacting with the local Wakandans, Khari and I decided to take a break. We sit on a log a few yards away from the others.

"You're a natural at this," I say bumping my shoulder with his. "You're a born leader."

He smiles at me, looking back at the Jabari warriors, watching them laughing with some children who came to meet them. "This is everything I've ever wanted for my country. I'm just happy to help."

We both stay silent for a minute, before a question comes from Khari. By the sound of his voice, he has been wanting to ask this for some time now. "When you both came back...your brother seemed different. Not as...well not his usual self. Why is that?"

I turn to face him a little more. "He said that after seeing what a monster Killmonger is, he wanted to change how he viewed others because he fears becoming like him."

That was not the answer Khari was expecting. He looks surprisingly sad, maybe even guilty. "In the name of Hanuman," he mutters. "I am so sorry, this is all my fault. I kept telling him he should open up to others more and not act out of fear of getting hurt, I never meant—"

"Khari! Khari it isn't your fault!" I say, placing a hand on his arm. "He drew parallels to Killmonger on his own. In fact, Alex said a huge reason why he wanted to change was because of you. Because of seeing your influence on people and how good of a person you are."

Khari looks at a lost for words. From the moment I met him I could tell how he felt about my brother, but it's in this moment I see how much. "He said that?"

I nod. I can see a wide grin spread on his face, and it makes me happier than words could express. If I could pick anyone to be with my brother, it would be Khari.

Khari adds after a moment. "I wanted to tell you, that I'm truly sorry about what happened to your parents. Alex told me before you both left...I can't even imagine."

I squeeze his hand. "Thank you. You talk to your mother and father often?"

He nods. "Whenever I have time off from my duties I try to see them. They're more than thrilled about what's happening between the Jabari and the rest of Wakanda. She baked me a cake to celebrate me becoming a General."

I feel my mouth water. I don't think I've had cake since HYDRA. "What flavor?"

"Vanilla with strawberry icing. And my parents hate deserts, so I got it all to myself."

I groan, half in hunger and half in jealousy. "That's one of the few times not having a sibling is really lovely. Whenever it was my birthday I would have to fight Alex to get a piece of my own cake."

"Did you win those fights?"

"After threatening to break his toy trains while he slept, yes, I would win."

This makes us both laugh, just as we hear laughter coming from the other Jabari warriors. Khari glances at them and then back at me. "We should probably go back."

I sigh, nodding my head. "Wouldn't want to miss out on the all fun." I say, before we walk back towards the two peoples getting along at last.

-

When the sun began to set, Shuri contacted me on my Kimoyo Beads, asking for me to come to her lab. Khari said we were done for today and that he would stay here while Okoye wrapped up.

Nodding to him in thanks, I change into a falcon and fly to the lab. I don't bothering to change back until I am down the stairs and in the main level. As I shift back, I pass by Bucky's cryo tank, running my hands gently across it as I walk towards Shuri.

She hears me approaching and forces a smile, looking utterly exhausted.

"You should get some sleep." I tell her, sitting down at the table in front of her, she follows suit.

"I can't sleep. I have too much work to do, which is part of why I called you here."

I shake my head. "I won't be much help with the trains."

She waves her hand at me. "No, no not for the trains. I called you here, because I think I am getting close to figuring out how to help your Sergeant Barnes."

My heart beat quickens. "Really?"

She nods. "For the past few weeks I've been reading about the mind and the different waves and circuits that goes with it. I have now determined there isn't anything physical I can do to his mind."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't do surgery or extract anything from his brain. In order to heal him I'll have to implant something in."

"Any ideas?"

Shuri smiles at me. "That's what you're here for."

Now I'm lost. "I'm not a scientist, Shuri. What could you need me for?"

"I don't know the specifics on what happened to him. You do. I need to know what HYDRA did to him in order to create something to undo it."

That made sense. I wanted to help in any way I could to help Bucky. But I really try not to think of what HYDRA did to him. The only hatred I hold in my heart is for Emma Becker; for what she caused my family. And for Arnim Zola; for what he did to Bucky.

Shuri sees my discomfort and moves around the table, taking a seat next to me and placing her hand on mine. "I know it isn't a pretty subject, but in order to get him back, it's something you need to tell me."

I look back to the other side of the lab, where Bucky's cryo chamber lies, nodding my head to her.

"He fell off the side of a train while on a mission in 1944. The serum HYDRA had given him helped him survive that fall, and that's when a man named Arnim Zola took him. He gave him the metal arm, but he also tried to brainwash him the old fashioned way. He told me he remembered for a couple years they would do psychological torture and would beat him."

I take a deep breath, feeling anger rise in me, feeling my chest grow rather tight. Shuri waits patiently for me to continue, and after another moment, I do.

"When that method didn't work, they used an electrical chair. The chair strapped his arms and legs down, while these metal plates would press against his head; one around the left side of his skull and the other right above his right eye. They used this to wipe his mind and then they created passwords. When someone said the passwords it would trigger the reprogramming and it's how people control him."

Shuri has been writing down every word I say. When I finish, she doesn't put her pencil down, she asks me: "What are the passwords?"

Bucky told me this too. Even now when I heard some of these words they made my skin crawl. "They're in Russian."

"Then can you do me a favor and speak them into my Kimoyo Beads." She says, pressing on one of them, and a recording device comes up.

I lean forward, closing my eyes as I say in Russian: "Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak. Furnace. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight Car."

Shuri shuts the recording down, squeezing my hand. "I'm sorry, but I needed that information."

I shake my head. "I know, I just...I hate thinking about what they did to him. It makes me angry."

"Rightfully so," She says, making her way back to the other side of the table. "But don't worry. I'm sure I'll figure out what to do in no time. Soon, he'll be back by your side."

I feel myself getting excited at the very thought and the smile that spreads over my face is automatic. "You don't have to rush anything though, Shuri. I don't want you to overwork yourself."

She scoffs. "I can handle the work load. I promised I would help him. Besides, you're my friend and I want you to be happy. I know that happiness includes Sergeant Barnes."

She's right, it does. "I am eternally grateful for all you've done for me. How can I ever repay you?"

A mischievous smile comes over her face. "Well..you could keep me company down here while I work at night...and maybe watch another movie with me tonight."

I let out an exaggerated sigh. "What movie?"

The mischief doesn't leave her smile. "The Notebook."

"What's that one about?"

"Oh you'll love it. It's a romance movie, it's set mostly in the 40's and it has Ryan Gosling in it."

I raise my eyebrows. "Whose Ryan Gosling?"

She extends her hand out to me. "Oh, you'll see." She says. With a shake of my head, knowing I'll regret this, I take her hand, letting her excitedly lead me out of the lab.


	24. Ferris Bueller

_three and a half months later..._

  
_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

'And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's meant to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am.'

Soroya reluctantly let me borrow her iPod. After all, she did say I had to be tortured with pop culture eventually.

I've been working with Shuri and the other scientists of Wakanda on the trains for probably three or four months now. She already has exsisting plans from the trains that carry the vibranium under the lab, so we are using those to create the new ones. We think the train will be above ground not below, so there's a team working on tracks right now. My job is to work on the engines of the trains, which is what I remember most from when I was a boy. We are almost done with the work, needing maybe only another month before everything is fully functional.

I've gotten into a really good rhythm; I wake up way too early and come down here to work, I do this until night, then I go to sleep. At least I have Soroya's iPod to keep me from getting bored. She is worse off; wake up an hour earlier and goes to help with the merging armies. She does this until night as well, but then comes to the lab and helps Shuri with the cure she's creating for Bucky. I think she's barely slept in days. Khari is in that same boat, since everyday he's going back and forth and overseeing both projects.

Shuri is in the lab all day working on fuel and the mechanics of things, while everyone else builds the damn thing outside. I tend to go back and forth between helping Shuri and working outside. Khari usually comes to check on us around lunch, where we take a break. Part of me thinks he does this so Shuri can give him a full report on what happened during the morning, but part of me also thinks he does this to see me. After talking with Shuri for maybe ten minutes he spends the remaining twenty talking to me. He does this everyday.

It's been difficult trying to open up, but Khari makes the task much easier. I bet if I murdered someone in front of him he would still look at me with the same friendliness and give me the same warm smile.

He and I have been sitting down for the past fifteen minutes, both of us sharing a sandwich and talking about movies. This is usually the topic we discuss everyday. "Wait wait wait," I say, finishing off the last of my sandwich. "So the past few days I've been explaining these movies to you, but you haven't actually seen any movies?"

Khari shakes his head. "I'm a member of the Jabari, of course I've never seen a movie."

My heart hurts. I thought I was the one behind on pop culture. "That's disgraceful! You have been deprived!"

Amusement crosses his face. Those hazel eyes crease as he smiles. "Are they really that good?"

I nod my head vigorously. "The three I've told you about: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ghostbusters, and Back to the Future literally shaped humanity as we know it. I can't even fathom a world where they don't exist."

"I'll have to watch them some time."

"Do they even have electricity in Jabariland?"

He nods. "Yes, but it isn't used for leisure activities."

I shake my head. "Alright, I need to rectify the situation. What are you doing tonight?"

"Once we're done here I have nothing, why?"

"I am going to change your life and show you Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's the greatest movie of all time." I say, meaning that statement despite the argument I'd get from Soroya.

"Well, where will we watch it?"

"There's a TV in my room with a DVD player and Shuri has every movie ever made, so we can—," I pause for a moment, feeling my cheeks flush at the thought of having Khari and me alone in my room together. I find myself having an internal panic attack. "So we can watch it together. You, me, and Soroya."

No look of disappointment or awkwardness goes over Khari's face. "I would love that. So, I will meet you back here when the job is done? We can walk to the palace together?"

I nod, watching him smile at me before turning and walking back towards the other scientists and engineers.

Stupid stupid stupid! God being open and sharing your feelings suck. Why am I doing this? What the hell was that? I invite a boy into my room and then backtrack and invite my sister?

Cursing at myself, I tell my suit to turn on and with a small jump, I shift into a bird. I fly towards the east border where Soroya has been working. After some frantic searching, I find her talking with Okoye.

I touch the ground and shift back into human form a few feet from them, making Soroya jump. She places a hand on her chest, shaking her head. "Alex! You scared me. Are you alright?"

I feel embarrassed and stupid and it shows in my voice as I ask: "Okoye can I have a word with my sister, please?"

Okoye nods, walking towards some of the other Jabari members. Soroya walks over to me, letting out a small yelp as I grab onto her arm and lead her further from everyone. I don't want any one to hear what an idiot I am.

"I need your help." I say, pacing back and forth. She watches me pace, lifting her eyebrows.

"Alex, what happened?"

"I'm an idiot that's what happened!" I say, rubbing my face several times and letting out a groan.

Her stupid intuition kicks in, followed by a sly smile. "Does this have something to do with Khari?"

I reluctantly nod. "We have been talking about movies the past few days and he informed me he's never seen a movie before—"

"What a poor man."

"Right!" I exclaim, continuing to pace. "But, then I offered to watch a movie with him and said there's a tv in my room where we could watch it on—"

Soroya gasps. "You asked him out?!"

I wince. "It seemed like I had. I internally realized that...so then I backtracked and said you would be watching it with us."

She bursts out laughing, not a slight chuckle, but a full blown mocking sisterly cackle. I stop my pacing and stand there with my arms crossed, way not amused.

"Soroya!" I shout. "This isn't funny!"

Her laughter starts to die down and she takes a deep breath. "Alex, it's just really adorable."

I crease my eyebrows. "What's adorable?"

"You! I've never seen you like this before. He really gets under your skin. I'm just happy about this."

"I don't know what to do. In the name of 'being more open to people and being willing to have relationships' I tried to ask a guy out and I made my sister a chaperone! I'm so stupid!"

She shakes her head, coming a bit closer to me and placing her hand on my shoulder. "You're way overthinking this. Khari doesn't expect anything from you. He knows you're new to this. It won't be a big deal to him."

I let out a sigh. "I know that...but what happens in the future? A few weeks? A few months from now? I have no idea how to do this sort of thing. I don't know how to have a relationship, especially a romantic one."

"You're open with me. Is it hard for you to talk to me?"

"No, but you're my sister. I trust you."

"And do you trust Khari?"

I pause, but I answer honestly. "Yes...yes I do."

Soroya smiles gently. She places a strand of her hair behind her ear, looking me right in the eyes as she says this next part. "I know it's hard to open up to someone new, but I promise you it will be worth it. You like Khari right?"

I nod slowly, making her nod back. "Having a romantic relationship isn't all that different from having any other one. You trust each other, you're open with how you feel, you depend on each other. It's scary and uncomfortable for everyone, even me."

"Yeah, sure it is."

"It's true. I knew very early on I had feelings for Bucky, but I didn't tell him because I was afraid," as she says this, I genuinely feel shocked. I've never known her to be guarded in her feelings. "I was afraid to tell him because I have no clue how to be in a relationship. I was twelve when HYDRA took me. I have no experience at all. I had this notion in my head that if I said something then I would completely mess everything up. But then I realized that acting out of that fear is stupid and will only keep me from being happy. I have waited two years to tell Bucky how I feel about him, please don't do the same with Khari."

I shake my head at her. "There's no way you could mess up a relationship."

She scoffs. "Thank you. And there's no way you could either. You trust him. You know he won't hurt you, you know he's a good person, and he is completely crazy about you. You have nothing to worry about. Just don't overthink it."

I nod, dropping my voice lower as I clarify: "You'll still come tonight, right?"

She nods with a smirk. "Yes, I'll come tonight. But at the end of the night you should ask him out for real."

"I don't think I'm ready for that yet...but baby steps. I'll get there."

Soroya pats my shoulders, beginning to walk back to Okoye. Before she gets too far away though, I stop her with a question.

"When Bucky wakes up, are you gonna tell him?"

She turns back to me, a sad smile on her face. "Nothing on earth or heaven could stop me." She says, turning back around and continuing to walk away.

I knew from the second I met Bucky how he felt about Soroya. And vice versa. I remember a time when I thought he could never be good enough for her, but now I can't think of anyone better for my sister. I know Soroya feels that same way about Khari, especially by the way she talks about him.

I had been denying the truth for a while, but I know I like him. A lot. I know how incredible he is, and this is another reason why I've withheld my feelings from him.

Bucky said he never told Soroya how he felt because he doesn't feel good enough for her. I think Khari deserves someone eons better than me. Part of me worries he'll realize that too.


	25. Taking A Chance

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Last night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Khari and I walked into the palace together and up to my room. Soroya, being the angel from heaven she is, was there before us. She also shoved the dirty clothes I had lying on the floor in random drawers and moved my boxes of childhood possessions towards the window.

We then watched the movie together. It was then I remembered I hadn't seen my favorite movie in sixteen years. I soon forgot about my nerves and started to enjoy myself. So did Soroya, forgetting her job as chaperone and laughed along with us at the movie.

When the parade scene came on screen, Soroya and I, probably temporarily being possessed by our ten year old selves, started to sing at the top of our lungs to 'Twist and Shout'. Khari loved the movie and laughed at every scene we did. He found us singing off key to a Beatles song very amusing.

The TV is right in front of the bed, so that's where all three of us were. On my bed. Soroya didn't have to read my mind to know I wanted her to be between Khari and me, but she was sneaky about it and laid on her stomach, so really only her feet were between us, not her whole body like I wanted.

Soroya was right, Khari didn't have any expectations of me. He didn't pressure me or make me feel obligated to do anything. He's patient. He genuinely cares. What's even better is that he really likes my sister and enjoyed her being there last night.

If someone wants to be apart of my life they needed to get along with Soroya. It would never work out if that weren't the case. But Khari and Soroya are so similar it's impossible for them to not like each other.

Today at work, our lunch break comes around and it goes as usual: Khari goes over and talks to Shuri and then comes over to me. For those ten minutes though I was running frantically from thought to thought trying to figure out what to say to him. Once he finally came over, my brain was completely blank. I had no idea what I was going to say.

"Ferris." Khari greets me, smiling widely as he sits down next to me.

I smile back. "I'm glad you liked the movie."

"Liked it? It was incredible! And you said the creator did several movies like that?"

I nod, finding his lack of movie knowledge kind of endearing. "John Hughes made a ton of teen coming of age movies. They're what Soroya and I grew up on."

"I'm excited to watch more." He says. I know this is the part where I'm supposed to invite him again to watch the next John Hughes movie, but I hesitate.

I remember what Soroya said. I shouldn't overthink things and I should just try to be honest about how I feel.

And then I remember that I feel like Khari deserves better than me. He deserves someone that is open and generous like he is, who always smiles at everyone and who won't shut him out.

I then think about what I deserve. I've purposely shut the chance at happiness out of my life in order to be safe, but dammit I deserve to be happy too. I'm not going to let anyone, even myself, get in the way of that any longer.

So I take a deep breath and I try to be honest. "Khari, I really enjoyed last night. And I would really like to do it again...but not with my sister there. I'm not...I'm not good at sharing how I feel. I never have been and being taken by HYDRA made it worse. I also have no idea how to have a relationship of any kind. Part of me feels like you deserve someone who knows how to be open about their feelings, not someone closed off and has the natural instinct to push others away," I tell him. I really try not to look him in the eyes as I get all of this off my chest. "But I'm also done getting in the way of my own happiness. I really like you, Khari. And if you're willing to take a chance with me, if you're willing to be patient, then I would really love to go on a real date with you."

Khari has stayed silent this entire time. My brain is going off in red alert telling me to shift into a bird and fly away. But I feel frozen to my seat. I can't move. I force myself to meet his eyes though, instantly relaxing. The smile on his face is one to top all others. It's one that warms me to my very core.

He hesitates for a moment before sliding his hand into mine, locking our fingers together. "I am more than willing to take that chance."

A smile breaks over my face, as well as some sort of nervous laughter mixed with a relived sigh. "Well, tonight lets watch Sixteen Candles."

Brushing his thumb over my knuckles, he nods. "Sounds like a plan. You want to do what we did yesterday and meet here after work today?"

I nod, squeezing his hand. This was very strange; I felt like the smile on my face couldn't be contained, like my head was above the clouds, like I was radiating heat.

I felt happy.

-

**Soroya**

Okoye and I lean against one of the fences from one of the farms, looking at each other with a shared look of exhaustion.

"Wakanda is much bigger than I thought." I comment, pushing some of my hair back and tucking it behind my ears.

Okoye nods in agreement. "I didn't give the Border Tribe enough credit. They have to do a lot of walking."

Now that we have officially finished giving Jabari positions on Wakanda's border, we still have to sort out who will watch the new train stations. We also need to figure out who will actually be on the trains and how we will handle the Jabriland border.

At least I have Okoye through all this. I look back at the other Dora's, seeing that they are utterly exhausted as well.

I look back at Okoye. "I think we need a break."

She nods. "An hour."

"Or two?"

"Two sounds good."

The people living at the farm we're currently at are nice enough to give us each some water and some sandwiches. They also allow us to cool off inside their house. It never ceases to amaze me how kind the people of Wakanda are.

All of us sit down and try to relax a little, which has grown far easier as we have gotten to know each other the past few months. Me, the Dora's, and the Jabari have not only developed a working relationship, but we've become fond of each other as well.

Especially me and the Dora's. Each of these women I have come to respect and admire to the highest degree.

Ayo, Okoye's second in command, is particularly a good story teller. During our more quieter moments, she always entertains us with a story. Today's story is about her first mission outside of Wakanda where she had to retrieve a spy in Romania.

"So, he managed to get the better of me and I ended up getting tied to a piano."

I raise my eyebrows. "A piano?"

"Well, the criminals had been hiding out in his house. I found our spy in their basement and apperently the chairs were too expensive to damage, so they tied me to the piano."

"Yes, because a piano isn't expensive." I say with a sarcastic roll of my eyes.

"So, he left me in the room alone. He was stupid enough to not only have left my spear in there, but the room had a railing that overlooked the living room."

Okoye laughs, probably because she knows the end of the story. This makes me listen more intently.

"When he left to talk to one of his men downstairs, I slipped out of the ropes and grabbed my spear. I then used it to push the piano over the rail and dropped it right on top of him and two of his men."

"Serves him right for his poor lack of planning." One of the other Dora's, a kind woman named Teela, mutters.

"What about you?" Ayo asks, looking my direction. "Are there any interesting stories you have from your assassin days?"

I really think about this. Most of my stories from HYDRA days are depressing and not something to tell friends over lunch. But as I continue to think about it, one story does come to mind.

I set my glass of water down, looking between all of the Dora's. "Now most of my assassin stories aren't that fun, but I do have one that isn't depressing. So when I was in HYDRA, I didn't kill almost any of the people they assigned me to. But every once in a while, there would be a genuinely bad person I would be assigned to; someone who double crossed HYDRA or were competition. And one of those men who happened to be both, was a man named Clancy Zara. He was a middle aged man who stole some weapon plans from HYDRA and sold them to a government agency in the Middle East.

"I was sent to kill him. I did some research before hand and found out he was terrified of Hippos after an incident when he was a child at the zoo. So, when I went to his house, I snuck in and hid in his dining room as a hippo. When it came dinner time, he strolled into the room and let out a glass shattering scream. Now, he was an avid hunter and had antlers and animal heads all over his walls. In his frenzy he smacked his face into the wall where one of the antlers of a deer happened to be and it went straight through him. I didn't really have to do anything that mission."

The Dora's burst out laughing. I find myself joining in, because it wasn't often I was surrounded by people who could relate to my life. They were warriors. They understood those hardships, but they also understood the levity that can be found in them.

"I have a question for you, Soroya," Another Dora named Nareema says. "You said you can only shapeshift into animals with vertebrae? So size, cold or warm blooded, none of that matters?"

"That is correct."

"Have you ever tried shifting into something that is extinct? Dinosaurs were vertebrates. Imagine you running into battle as a velociraptor."

A Dora named Irina chimes in. "What about other worldly creatures? Remember those aliens that attacked New York. Could you shift into those?"

I pause, really trying to think those questions through. "I don't think I've ever thought of that before...I don't know the answer to those questions. I guess I won't know until I try. I'll have to get back to you on that."

As the Dora's begin to discuss other extinct animals I could possibly turn into, my Kimoyo Bead bracelet buzzes. As I press on it, the image of Shuri pops up.

I smile at her. "Shuri! How are things going there? Is everything alright?"

She looks like she has had too much caffeine and not enough sleep. Through the crazed kind of look in her eyes, she manages an exhausted chuckle and a smile. "I figured it out."

I knit my eyebrows in confusion. "Figured what out?"

"I figured out how to fix his brainwashing," Shuri says. "I can cure Sergeant Barnes. I can wake him up."


	26. White Wolf

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I had never flown faster in my whole life. Okoye was next to me when Shuri called and only said "Go." with a nod of her head.

I'm now standing in front of Shuri, feeling tired, worried, and excited all at once. "Did you really figure it out?"

She nods her head, taking a sip of something I'll bet money is coffee. I hear footsteps come from the stairs and I see T'Challa appear, who gives me a hopeful smile as he joins me. I haven't seen much of him the past few months. After he went to Vienna to announce Wakanda to the United Nations, he's dealing with those repercussions. He's also been assisting different world leaders with the help of Nakia, but trying not overwhelm them with the tech hidden in this small section of the world.

After a brief embrace, we both stand in front of Shuri as she explains to us what she's been doing the last few months in this lab.

"I told Soroya earlier that I can't do anything physical to remove the triggering passwords. The last thing we want to do is remove all of who he is while trying to remove what HYDRA made him to be. The hardest part is rooting out the extent of his memories that have the greatest amount of control over his physical actions; the ones that have been manipulated due to their emotional trauma," Shuri says, pacing and taking another sip of coffee. "Now, I started to think of something I could create to stop the activating of those manipulated memories and I've done it! I created an adaptive algorithm that will basically flush his mind of the trigger passwords."

I can feel tears prickle in my eyes, feeling overwhelmed by this news. T'Challa wraps an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly.

Shuri isn't done talking though and she gets even more excited. "This algorithm will provide new possibilities for Wakanda's artificial intelligence in the near future. But for now, it will give your Sergeant Barnes the peace he deserves."

"You've outdone yourself." T'Challa says, with a look of pride on his face as he looks at his sleep deprived sister.

I rush over to her, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug. I feel her hug me back just as tightly.

"Thank you." I whisper into her ear.

Shuri pulls back, smiling at me widely. "Of course. Now, in order to put the algorithm in his mind I will have to place it physically in his head. I created a chip with the algorithm in it that will do the trick, but surgery will be involved."

My worry increases and I start to find that breathing is difficult. "Will he be alright?"

Shuri nods reassuringly. "He'll be completely fine. The surgery won't take long. I need to get some sleep tonight, but me and my other scientists will do the surgery tomorrow morning. He'll probably need a day or two to recover from it and of course I need to test the theory."

Now fear rises in me. "Test the theory?"

"I have to use the passwords. Why do you think I had you tell me what they were?"

"But that could—"

"Soroya, trust me. This will work. And because it will work, the passwords will do nothing to him. They'll just be words."

I take a deep breath, tucking my hair behind my ears, nodding my head. "Will you tell me once you've finished?"

Shuri grabs my hands and holds them tightly. "He will be perfectly safe and back by your side before you know it. You'll be the first to know when he's in recovery."

I nod, pulling Shuri in for another hug, my eyes falling on Bucky's cryo tank, feeling my fear still there.

-

_A few days later..._

Okoye hasn't made me work. Part of me wishes that I could be productive and distract myself, but a larger part of me knows I'm already too distracted to work. It's very frustrating.

Alex hasn't been working either, especially since Shuri has been focusing on Bucky and not on the trains. He's been sitting in my room with me, trying his best to make me feel better. Khari has come by to see both of us when he gets lunch breaks, which makes Alex and I happy. I was over the moon they were together now. It made this highly stressful few days a bit more bearable.

It's been three days since his surgery and two days since he started recovery. Just thinking about the fact Bucky was no longer frozen, that he was awake, made me feel like I was bursting from my skin.

Alex and I have been sitting on my bed watching Pretty Woman. We are just at the shopping spree scene when my Kimoyo Beads start to beep. I press on them instantly.

Shuri's face appears and she doesn't waste a second. "He's fine. We moved him from the lab. He's in a small house we arranged for him near the lake. We thought he would like being outside."

He would like that. My worry hasn't completely gone though. I ask with a slight tremor in my voice. "You...you tried the passwords?"

She nods. "The algorithm worked. The passwords didn't affect him at all."

I audibly sigh and let out a slight laugh. "Shuri you're—"

"A genius? I know. He is sleeping right now but you can come down here if you'd like. He should be waking up shortly given the last dosage of meds we gave him."

I nod to her and shut off the beads, feeling a smile grow that makes me feel like my whole face will crack. I turn to Alex, who hugs me tightly before nodding his head towards the door.

Walking out of my bedroom we make our way downstairs, walking quickly through the doors to exit the palace. We both shift into falcons, flying over towards the lake right outside the city. The house Shuri was referring to was obvious because it look quite different from the other Wakandan dwellings. This house looks more like a hut than a house. I see Shuri smile at us as we fly by.

We land behind the house, not wanting to freak out the children we see playing nearby. We reach the ground and shift back into human form, telling our suits to retract back into our necklaces.

I hear children shouting something in Xhosa, and my heartbeat quickens as I hear Shuri vaguely speaking. I think she asks someone how they're feeling. A familiar scent fills my nose and the voice of Bucky fills my ears. I feel like I can't breathe.

"Good...thank you." I hear him say.

I smile lightly to myself, forcing my legs to move faster. I hear Shuri say something else to him, but I can't hear her over the beating of my heart as we make our way around the hut.

Shuri smiles at Alex and I once she sees us. "Ah yes. There are two people who have been wanting to see you." She says, and that's when I see him.

Alex and I stop our pace right beside the house, about ten feet from Shuri and Bucky. He stops walking as well, looking at Alex for a long moment before finally landing his gaze on me. He looks tired despite having basically slept for the past four months. I notice right away his metal arm is gone. I don't know if that's because of Shuri or because of something that happened while he was with Steve. His hair has grown out more too; now resting comfortably at his shoulders. He also has a fully grown beard that spreads across the whole bottom half of his face. But besides those minor changes he looks exactly the same. Looking at him my heart almost combusts.

Alex is the first of all four of us to talk. He walks up to Bucky and wraps an arm around his shoulders, patting him lightly on the back. "It's good to see you." Alex says with a smile.

Bucky returns his embrace genuinely, smiling back at Alex. "You too, Alex. I'm glad to see you're safe."

Alex lets out an ironic laugh. "Yeah well...we'll catch you up to speed about current Wakanda events later...I think you two need a moment alone." He says, gesturing with his head to Shuri, who instantly gets the hint.

Alex and Shuri walk back towards the city together, whispering silently to themselves, leaving Bucky and I alone.

We stand there silently for a moment. I start to wonder why this is more awkward than it should be. I then remember how many conflicting emotions have been building in me since his absence. And without really knowing what I'm doing, I march up to him and slap him across the face.

I wince at the impact. His jaw is as hard as a rock and if I didn't have enhanced strength I probably would have broken my hand. The slap didn't seem to effect Bucky physically, but he does look slightly taken aback.

"I probably deserved that." He mutters, touching his face gently.

I let out a groan. "No, you didn't. I just remembered how angry I was at you for leaving...but then I know I would have done the same thing. I also am trying to process that you're really here, so a slap felt appropriate."

This makes Bucky chuckle, and that sound is more beautiful than any song Shuri has forced me to listen to since I've been here. I take a step forward and slowly slip my hand into his now only hand. He closes his fingers around mine; the warmth of his touch feeling like an open circuit coursing through my body.

"I read your letter..." I tell him.

He closes his eyes, clearly regretting that decision. "I'm so sorry I didn't say a proper goodbye. I needed to keep you safe...but I'm also sorry I said all those things. I shouldn't have been so forward about how I felt. And I know you don't feel that way, so let's just forg—"

Feeling like my chest will crack open like a nut if I don't do something, I release my grip on his hand and bring both of my hands to cup his face. Without another moment's hesitation, I bring his lips down to mine.

He freezes at first, shocked and unsure of how to respond. But as I stroke a piece of his hair away from his face, he starts to melt into the kiss. He rests his hand on the small of my back and pushes me closer to him.

This is my first kiss. As those go I would say this is probably as good as it gets. There's a voice in my head starting to worry I'm not doing this right, which is possible given that I've never kissed anyone before. But he doesn't seem to mind if I am doing something wrong or not.

For a moment it just feels like the two of us, like nothing else in the world exists and has faded away. But I can almost hear a voice in Bucky's head telling him to stop. I hate that he listens to it. I feel slightly lightheaded as he pulls back a few inches. I'm grateful he doesn't pull his arm away from me because I think I would fall over.

I don't take my hands away from his face as I say this to him: "You said in your letter that you never told me how you felt because you think I deserve a normal life with a normal man. But that's not what I want. I know now more than ever that I want a life using my powers to do good. I want to do that with you by my side. I don't care if your name never gets cleared and we have to be on the run our whole lives. I want to be with you."

There's a war going on in his head and I can see it plain as day. Part of him looks miserable and part of him looks happy. This is giving me a lot of confusing messages. He brings his hand up to my face and cups it gently, brushing his thumb over my cheekbone.

"You can't be with me. You can't—it's not what you deserve. You can't be with a broken man."

"Isn't that for me to decide?"

"All the things I've done—"

"Were not you. You need to stop blaming yourself for something that you were forced to do. You're the victim, you have to stop—"

He sighs, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I know...which is all the more reason why I think I need to stay away for a while."

My heart stops in my chest. "What?"

"I think staying out here, away from the city will do me some good. A lot happened while I was with Steve...and now that I have all my memories back and the passwords are gone...I need time to heal. I need to process everything...away from everyone."

"Does that include me?"

He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't have to. It makes sense. I know it does, but even though I sense this explanation of wanting to keep his distance and heal is true, I know there's another motive to this.

I nod my head, dropping my hands from his face to his shoulders. "You're right. You need to heal and to move past what's happened to you. It will be harder to cope with by yourself, but if that's what you want, I'll keep my distance while you heal," I say, but I tighten my grip on his shoulders and look him dead in the eye as I say: "I know you, James Buchanan Barnes. I know part of this is a plan to get me to think things over and change my mind. I won't. I won't and I never will." I lean forward and plant a short but meaningful kiss on his mouth.

A sad smile crosses his lips. "I hope you will," He says, taking a step back from me and heading back to the house. But before he enters, he turns around and looks at me again. "When did you change your hair?"

I nod, absentmindedly touching it. The last few days have been tough and I needed a distraction. I'd been meaning to cut it and I finally managed to do it. As Bucky once pointed out to me, I constantly push my hair away from my face. It's always getting in the way, so I cut it yesterday to a little above my shoulders. Ramonda actually helped me with it. She also gave me bangs. I haven't had bangs since I was a small child.

"Yesterday. Do you like it?"

Bucky nods back, sighing as he says. "You look beautiful...you look a lot like Vera Lynn now."

I let out a small laugh, and so does he, before he moves the flap in the doorway aside, disappearing inside.

I would do as he wishes and keep my distance. Mostly at least. But I knew in my bones that nothing he can do will change my mind. I'll continue to work with the Dora's and help out Alex, and when he's ready, I'll be waiting for him. I'll always wait for him.


	27. A Time For Healing

**PART II: INFINITY WAR**

_several months later..._

  
_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I kick at his thigh hard, grabbing onto his arm and twisting it back. I hold his arm tightly before using my body's weight to send him crashing to the ground with me on top of him.

Khari pats the mad with urgency. With a smirk I get off of him, holding out my hand to help him up. He lets out a pained laugh. "You don't have to be such a show off."

"And where would the fun in that be?" I say smiling at him playfully.

The past several months have been quite busy. Now that the borders have been manned properly and the train stations are finished, we have started to train with the Jabari in order to learn from each other's different fighting styles. Khari and I have been keeping score on how many times one of us beats the other. The score is 15-1 now, since one time I let him win.

Okoye is finishing up with a fight with a Jabari woman, and once she beats her, she looks over to me and nods her head. The sun is starting to go down, so that meant we are done for today. The place we have been training with them is right outside the armory, which makes it easy to practice with various weapons. Khari and I both walk out of the armory together and head towards the palace.

"What's the movie tonight?" Khari asks.

"It was my turn to pick so we're watching The Princess Bride."

"What's The Princess Bride?"

I pat him on the shoulder as the palace comes more into view. "Oh you'll see. I guarantee you'll love it."

Khari shakes his head. "As long as it isn't like Alien. I still have nightmares."

Once we make it into the palace and up to Alex's room, I find my brother is currently putting the disk into the DVD player. He hears us before we approach the door and shouts to me: "I miss the days where we could eat popcorn and RedVines while we watched something."

I smirk at my brother as I walk in, plopping myself onto his bed. "I miss Milk Duds more."

Alex turns his head to look at me and nods with a sad groan. He looks up at Khari and a smile breaks over his face. Khari shares that smile as he leans down and kisses Alex gently on the lips. Khari plops onto the bed next to me and whispers to me: "What are Milk Duds? They sound revolting."

I let out a small chuckle. "They're delicious. Next time I visit Shuri in California I'll bring some back."

"And some RedVines!" Alex says jumping onto his bed, nearly whacking me in the face with his arm.

I roll my eyes. "Yes, and some RedVines."

As the movie begins to play we get into our now normal positions: me on the left side of the bed, Khari on the right, and Alex in between us. Alex clasps his hand with Khari and leans his head on his shoulder.

I look away from the screen and back to them. I never get tired of seeing my brother happy like this, but part of me feels sad. Practically seeing any couple together these days made me sad.

Bucky has been in the hut by the lake the past few months. He barely comes into the city unless he needs more food or supplies. He's spent his time actually working the farm. I bet the mundanity of it calms his nerves.

I have kept my word and stayed away...mostly. The first week was rough after he came back. I kept worrying that something would happen to him and I wouldn't be there to help him. This kept me up at night, so I have gotten into the habit of shifting into a small bird, flying over to his house, and resting on the window. In his house there isn't any glass in the window, so I have been sleeping there, feeling comforted that I could keep watch over him. But more than that I missed him and this was the closest I could be to him right now. Alex pointed out its technically stalking. I don't really care.

He still wakes up in the night from nightmares, and when he does, it takes all my willpower not to shift back. All I want to do is rush over to him and tell him he was safe from the horrors he just relived. I'm starting to think he knows what I'm doing; for the past two months or so he smiles at me softly before exiting his house every morning. But I guess it's not hard to piece it together when a bird is on your window every morning and you know the woman you love shapeshifts.

At night is the only time I really see him though. During the day I've been busy with Okoye, so it's easy to get distracted and not think about him. After work though has been tougher to distract myself, especially with Shuri running things back and forth between Wakanda and California. That is when Alex and Khari invited me to their movie nights. I was grateful for their support and help with distracting me. The three of us always have a lot of fun together, even if I'm being a third wheel.

There have been a few times when I run into him in the city or I see him when we happen to be patrolling around his hut. A few weeks ago was my birthday and he came by my room to wish me happy birthday. This was the first time we had had a real conversation in a while. I could tell he was holding back. It hurt me in ways I couldn't express. All I wanted to do was talk like we used to, to hold his hand, touch his face...

Watching Wesley and Buttercup usually makes me happy, but seeing them together now just makes trying to distract myself from Bucky even harder.

The scene where Buttercup pushes Wesley down the hill, thinking he's the Dread Pirate Roberts, plays on the screen. As Wesley and Buttercup confess their love for each other while lying in the grass, I feel like someone has wrapped their hands around my heart and is squeezing it tightly.

I glance back at Alex and Khari who, for who knows how long, have been starring at me with pitying smiles. I shake my head at them.

"I'm fine."

"We can watch something else if you want to."

I lean against Alex, who wraps an arm around my shoulder and adjusts himself to let me rest my head on his shoulder. "It really isn't the movie that's bothering me."

Khari leans against Alex and rests his head on his other shoulder, bringing his hand over to mine and gripping it tightly.

"This is a time for healing, but I know he will come around." Khari says, squeezing my hand.

I nod to him, knowing that he's right. Part of me felt selfish for hating that he is staying away and distancing himself from me. He's trying to protect me, to keep me safe and happy. He doesn't think he deserves me. He thinks I deserve better. Not only is he wrong, but he won't listen to me when I try to tell him he's wrong. I just wish he would learn to love himself the way I do.

I wish I could help this but I can't. I can't help that I miss him, or that he's on my mind constantly, or that my heart feels like it will combust at the near mention of him. Shuri was right: I have no idea how to deal with this. Why didn't anyone tell me that being in love was a mixture of happiness and heartbreak?

-

**Alex**

It's way too early to be up. But I know he's up right now, so this is the opportune moment to do this. Especially since I convinced Soroya to sleep in my room last night instead of watching Bucky sleep like that sparkling vampire from Twilight. I walk out of the palace and slowly but surely make my way towards Bucky's quaint little farm house.

I was right; he is awake. He seems to be feeding the goats that also reside on the farm. Over the past few months I've kept my distance as well, except for two occasions; one was when I caught him up to speed on what had happened while we ate some lunch. The second time was when he asked me to show him around Wakanda. He met Khari that day. Khari was, of course, thoughtful and warm to Bucky, which I think made him feel good. After that meeting though I had to explain to Khari the complicated situation that is Bucky and Soroya's relationship. It was like detailing a really convoluted spy thriller soap opera.

Bucky sees me approaching and I see him let out a sigh, walking over towards me. Bucky is wearing some brown pants, a blue shirt with cut off sleeves, and his hair tied into a bun of sorts. Seeing him dressed like this and farming is something I'll never get used to. It's strange to think he's one of the best assassins in history.

"You're looking good, old man," I say as I grow nearer. "Are the goats good company?"

Despite himself, Bucky let's out a chuckle. "I think so, but you're the one that can talk to animals so you tell me."

I look around him at the goats and I shake my head. "I've never shifted into a goat before so I couldn't tell you. I bet they only have lovely things to say about you though."

He nods, looking at me for a long moment before asking: "Why are you here?"

I shrug. "Can't I just be coming to see my friend?"

"A normal person might, but you're not a normal person, Alex. What is it?"

I walk up to him and grip his shoulder, nodding towards the lake a few feet from us. "Let's sit down and have a chat."

Bucky nods, and together we walk to the edge of the lake, sitting down in the grass. The sun has just started to come up and its caused the water to glisten like jewels. A slight wind has picked up and it makes the grass sway, tickling my legs as I sit down. Wakanda never ceases to awe me with it's beauty. I can tell by the way Bucky looks at it, that it relaxes him as much as it does for me.

"Is this about Lena?"

I nod. "Yes and no. I wanted to ask how you're doing, first of all. Had any spiritual awakenings?"

Bucky picks at blades of grass, throwing the pieces into the water. "I've been trying to come to terms with what's happened to me...and it hasn't been easy. The hardest part is trying to stop blaming myself."

"And how's that going?"

Bucky tilts his head. "I'm getting there."

After a brief moment of silence, I decide to stop stalling and get to the point. "And how well do you think this half baked plan to get her to move on from you is going?"

Bucky looks at me, and I can see it pains him as he says: "I hope it's going well."

"If you think it's going well then you don't know my sister at all," I say, thinking of how distracted she's been the past few months. "She doesn't give up on people. When she cares about someone she will stay by their side till the end, so all you're doing is causing yourself and her unnecessary pain."

"Unnecessary? Of course it's necessary."

"Why? Because you think she deserves better? Bucky you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened—"

"She deserves someone whose whole. Someone who doesn't have the baggage I do. The trauma, the guilt, the anger. No matter how much time passes I'll never be the man I used to be. I'll always be broken. She doesn't deserve to love pieces of someone."

I let out a sigh, remembering me thinking the exact thing several months ago. So, I use the advice Soroya gave me.

"I understand that. I really do. That's what kept me for telling Khari how I felt. I thought he deserved someone who would be open and trusting of him, who wouldn't try to push him away. I was afraid that I would mess things up or worse; that I would end up hurting him. Because let's face it, I'll never be a whole man either. But a wise woman told me that I shouldn't let my fear get in the way of my happiness."

Bucky smirks, knowing exactly who I'm talking about. "She sounds very wise."

"If there's one thing I've learned from being here; it's that getting hurt is apart of life. And if you try to stop yourself and everyone in your life from getting hurt you're only going to end up miserable and alone. God knows Soroya has been miserable without you. You're constantly on her mind. At the very mention of you I can see part of her heart cracking. It makes me want to punch you. But I know you aren't doing this to hurt her and you're trying to do the 'noble' thing, but that's bullshit. You love her and she loves you, so be happy. Stop worrying about what might happen and live in the now."

Bucky blinks at me. He looks rather shocked but also kind of impressed. "Wow, Wakanda did change you. You aren't the same Alex I once knew."

"No, I'm not. And look how happy I am because of it. It's high time you are too."

Bucky takes a second, but then nods his head, smiling genuinely at me. "I have missed you, Alex."

I let out a laugh, shrugging. "Well I do tend to have a lasting effect on people."

"I see Wakanda hasn't helped your ego."

"I don't think anything can." I say, and the two of us begin to laugh. I feel like I really got to him. Maybe he'll stop being stubborn and do as I tell him. I hope he does, because if anyone deserves to be happy it's him and my sister.


	28. I Dreamt Of You

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Today the Jabari mean business. During our training sessions we spend a few hours using weapons and a few hours just doing hand to hand. I think Khari is trying to exact vengeance on me; therefore purposely giving me these hugely built warriors to fight off. Thank god I have powers, because if I didn't, I think my bones would be broken. One woman in particular I swear is twice my size. At one point she managed to push me against the floor so hard it knocked the wind out of me.

By the time I got to practice with Khari I was already exhausted. He managed to win the fight easily. As he helps me to my feet, my suspicions are confirmed when he smiles and says: "2-15."

I roll my eyes. "You cheated."

He scoffs. "I did no such thing."

I grab my bottle of water and chug down half of its contents, giving Khari the rest. "What are you and Alex doing tonight?"

"We're having dinner back in Jabariland, which you're still welcome to—"

I shake my head. "Khari I appreciate it, but I am fine. I can't intrude on any more of your dates—"

"You're not intruding! Not at all and I don't want you to think you're a burden. I don't make these offers just because you're Alex's sister. You're my friend. I enjoy your company."

I grab onto his hand and smile at him. "You're my friend too, which is all the more reason to give you two some time alone. I want you both to be happy."

"And we want you to be happy, too."

I sigh. "I am happy...I don't know it's complicated."

Khari squeezes my hand. "When it comes to matters of the heart it always is. Are you sure you will be okay tonight?"

I nod. "You two have fun. I am really tired after today anyways." I say glaring at him playfully.

Khari doesn't look sorry at all. "At least I'm catching up to you. I do want you to come back to Jabariland soon though. I just did a new painting I really want to show you and my mother has missed you."

I smile softly. "Tell her I'll come by soon. What did you paint a picture of?" I ask.

"It's a painting of the panther statue in the city. I can't wait for you to see it."

"I can't wait either." I say, walking towards the door of the armory. "I'll see you tomorrow, Khari."

I tell my suit to activate once I get outside, shifting and flying towards the palace. When I make it to my room I do genuinely feel exhausted. I can't sleep now though or else I'll wake up way too early and my whole sleeping schedule will be messed up.

I try to think if there's a movie I want to watch, but nothing comes to mind. I end up grabbing onto my iPod and scrolling through my library and clicking on Taylor Swift, who has now become a new favorite of mine. I decide to finally go through the rest of my childhood boxes. I had put off organizing my mother's jewelry for so long, but today is the perfect day.

I start to lay out the jewelry, and like I feared, some of it has become knotted and jumbled together over the years. As I start to detangle three of my mother's necklaces, 'Style'' comes on. I start to sing aloud to it as I get to my favorite part of the song: "You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye, and I got that red lip, classic thing that you like. And when we go crashing down, we come back every time. 'Cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style."

As I continue to sing, I find what looks to be Papa's old pocket watch; the one he had gotten from our Grandfather. I remember Papa told Alex when we were growing up that he would get this when he turned eighteen. I smile down at the object, collecting the jewelry I have untangled on the floor and placing them on the dresser, pushing the box aside. I grab hold of the pocket watch and open the door, finding that it whacks into a heavy object in front of it. I hear a groan. As I walk into the hall, I find Bucky rubbing his side.

I stare down at Bucky, wondering why he was sitting in front of my door. "What are you doing here?"

This whole time he has been facing away from me, but as he turns to me, I see that his eyes are red rimmed. He's obviously been crying.

"Did I really hit you that hard?" I ask, starting to feel bad.

Despite the crying, Bucky lets out a pained laugh. "No...no it's not the door."

I stare at him for a moment before holding up a finger, saying: "Let me drop this off at Alex's room and then I'll be right back. Why don't you go inside?"

He nods. I quickly run into Alex's room, dropping the pocket watch on his dresser. When I make it back into my room, Bucky is sitting on the edge of my bed, rubbing at his eyes. I slowly walk towards him, many conflicting emotions coursing through me. My first instinct is to wrap my arms around him and hold him tightly, telling him that everything will be okay. But I don't know if he wants me to do that. I don't know whether to sit next to him or kneel in front of him, or just stand. What do I do?

I opt for kneeling down in front of him because I want to see his face. To my surprise he doesn't hide it from me. He has his head bent low and his hand is resting gently on his lap. I place one hand on his knee and the other I clasp with his hand.

"What happened?" I ask.

"I had another nightmare. I-I have them pretty often, but this one was the worst I've ever had. The last few months I've had many were I was killing the Starks, or I was trying to kill Steve...but tonight...it was about you."

"Me? What about me?"

"Someone got hold of my passwords and activated me...and then the next thing I knew I was kneeling over your body. Every bone was broken, your eyes were starring up at me in horror, and your heart wasn't beating anymore. I...I looked down and my hands were covered in your blood. I held you in my arms and screamed," he says, his voice becomes thick from the tears as they flow down his face. "And I-I didn't know what to do. The dream felt so real. I just needed to make sure you were alright, because if anything ever happened to you....and then I heard you singing and it started to calm me down. So I just sat there and listened to you. I'm-I'm sorry I startled you."

My voice is firm as I say: "What are you apologizing to me for? Don't ever apologize for coming to me," I say, sitting up more so that we are at eye level. I grab his hand and bring it up to my face then down to my heart. "You see? I'm okay. I'm alive, I'm breathing. You didn't do anything. You could never do anything to hurt me."

He shakes his head. "But I have been hurting you. I had no idea my absence had effected you so badly the last few months. I really did want time to heal, but without you there it was impossible. But I really kept my distance from you because of exactly this," He says gesturing to his sobbing face. "I'll always be a broken man. You don't deserve that."

I feel tears prickle in my own eyes as I cup his face in my hands, brushing his tears away. "Why can't you get it through that thick skull of yours? I want you! That isn't going to change. I want every broken shard of you." I tell him, meaning it with all my heart.

He brings his hand up and wraps it around my wrist, rubbing it softly as he turns his head to kiss my palm. I let go of his face and lock my arms around his neck, bringing my lips to his. He doesn't hold back this time, kissing me back passionately. His hand comes up to my face, where I feel him run his fingers through my hair, tucking it back behind my ear.

I can feel his tears still falling down his cheeks, making him taste rather salty. I move one of my hands down to rest where his jaw meets his neck, pulling him closer. His beard tickles my chin and lips as he continues to kiss me. I hate that I have an urge to laugh.

Bucky pulls back from me, taking a deep breath. I once again wipe some of his tears away, seeing him smile at me as I do so. I stand up from where I kneel in front of him and I sit on his lap. He locks his arm around my waist, and I do the same with his neck, pressing my forehead against his. We stay like this for several moments; just taking in the feeling of being in each other's arms, like we've made our own small bubble that no one can penetrate.

"Stay here tonight." I whisper to him.

He nods, smiling slightly. "It's the least I can do. That window must be very uncomfortable."

I feel my body tense up and then be overwhelmed with embarrassment. "You do know about that?"

He nods. "Don't worry, knowing you were there actually made me sleep better."

I feel a bit more relaxed after he says this. "That's what I was hoping for. I know you wanted me to keep my distance...but I just needed to be near you."

He kisses me gently on the nose, releasing his hold on me. I grab his shoulder as I get off of his lap, walking to the other side of the bed. Bucky gets under the blankets and as I do the same. I start to get a sense of deja vu. He and I have slept in the same bed more times than I can count, but now it feels different: we aren't on the very edge of each side of the bed or facing away from each other. We aren't making sure a considerable distance is between us like we used to. Instead he has an arm wrapped around me and my head is resting on his chest.

I close my eyes as I take in the sound of his heartbeat, of his chest rising and falling, of the warmth of his touch as he lays a kiss on the top of my head. This feels right; right here in his arms...or arm.

"You said you've been dreaming a lot lately?" I ask him.

I feel him nod.

"While you were in cryo did you have any dreams? It's something I've wanted to ask you."

His voice sounds much calmer as he replies: "I did have dreams."

I lift my head to look at him, trailing a finger along his beard. "Good dreams I hope."

He runs his knuckles up and down my spine, sending goosebumps across my skin. He looks over at me and smiles. "The best...I dreamt of you."

I feel my smile grow. "Of me?"

He nods, continuing to rub my back. "Nothing specific. I just dreamt of your face; those deep chocolate eyes, that pointed nose, those lips as they curve into a smile. I dreamt of your voice; with its thick German accent and Vera Lynn singing voice. Most of the time in the dreams you would be singing, I think that's because it's the one thing that can really relax me."

I push a strand of hair behind his ear and kiss his cheek. "Do you want me to sing now?"

He leans forward and kisses my lips gently, before nodding. "Could you sing Moon River?"

I rest my head back on his chest, and with a smile that I don't think will ever go away, I begin to sing. I know that no matter what happens tomorrow or the next day, we would finally do things together, just as it should be.


	29. Where’s The Fight?

_**POV:** _   
**Bucky**

I open my eyes and the first thing I see is Lena. She's sleeping on her side facing me, with her arms tucked against her chest and parts of her hair resting against her face. I gently tuck those strands back and watch as she smiles in her sleep.

I look out the window and see that the sun has already started to come up, so I need to head back to the farm. I gently brush my fingers against Lena's cheek and place a soft kiss on her lips, seeing her eyes flutter open.

She smiles at me gently, then looks from me to the clock on her nightstand. "You have to go?"

I nod. "You're welcome to come with me."

She nods. "I think Okoye can manage without me for a few hours. I just hope the goats like me."

I chuckle softly. "How could they not?"

And with that, we both reluctantly roll out of bed. Hand in hand we make our way out of the palace and back to the farm. I feel for the first time in months, genuinely at peace.

The first thing I do is feed the goats, which Lena helps with. And after that's done, I find that the food I ordered for them had arrived in these cream colored sacks. All these sacks are lying under the tree, so I start to toss them onto this broken wheel barrel where I usually stash their food.

Lena leans against the tree, where one of the Wakandan kids who usually come by to visit me starts asking her a bunch of questions. He particularly asks about her necklace with the beautiful golden wings. Lena explained to me that it holds her suit, and all I could think of is how convenient that suit must be. I remember all the times she would shift and I'd have to carry around an extra pair of clothes for her. I have yet to see it though.

As I throw another sack, I see people walking towards us. As they grow nearer, I realize who they are. I look over to Lena, who is starring there way also. She pushes herself away from the tree, her face turning from happiness to concern as her friends walk towards us.

T'Challa, his general, and some of his warriors walk over to us. Two of them place a long metal case on a stack of hay. Lena and I walk over to see what's inside. When I open it up, I see that inside is a new metal arm; it's dark grey with different lines and patterns of gold.

I feel a sinking in my chest, knowing that their appearance and their gift to me can only mean one thing. I glance over at Lena and she knows it too.

"Where the fight?" I ask them.

"On its way." T'Challa says.

"What's coming?" Lena asks, running a hand along the new arm.

"Steve Rogers has informed us that a alien titan named Thanos is coming to earth. He's trying to use Infinity Stones, which are these stones from outer space, to wipe out half of every creature in the universe." T'Challa informs us.

I miss the times when the biggest threats on earth were ourselves. Now an alien is threatening genocide.

"Have you talked to M'Baku, to Khari, my brother?" Lena asks, and I can hear the dread in her voice. I grip onto her hand tightly, trying to comfort her. I see T'Challa and Okoye smile softly at the sight of our combined hands.

T'Challa looks back up at her. "We sent word to M'Baku about the coming fight, so I would assume Khari is aware. I would go discuss this with your brother though."

She turns to me, and with a squeeze of my hand she steps back. Her suit spreads over her body from the necklace, and I have to admit she looks fierce in her suit, like a hero. She jumps up, holding her arms out and shifts into a bird, flying towards the direction of the mountains.

T'Challa watches her fly away too, before turning back to me. "Come," He says, gesturing with his arm for me to follow him as he walks back towards the palace. "My sister is on her way back from California, she said to meet her in her lab so she can put your arm on."

I nod my head, grabbing the case holding my arm before follow the king. I am filled with dread for the coming battle, but I am thankful, that for even a few hours I was able to truly have some peace. I know in the life I have, peace never truly lasts.

-

**Soroya**

I find Khari and Alex near the train station, where Alex now works operating the trains. He and Khari stand away from the train now and they seem to be in a deep discussion.

They both see me fly down to them and shift back. Khari grabs onto my hand the moment I touch the ground and instantly brings me into the conversation. "Please tell your brother that this fight will be far different than the one against Killmonger."

Alex rolls his eyes. "Can you tell Khari that I can handle myself."

I walk closer to my brother and try to lay out what's coming for us. "This is unlike anything you or I have ever faced. Anything could go wrong. I am not our mother so I can't force you to stay back, but you have to understand the risks."

Alex rolls his eyes again, looking angrily between the two of us. "I have mastered my powers and you have taught me how to fight. I can handle whatever that psychotic rock collector has coming," He says, rubbing a hand over his face like he's trying to calm himself down. "Don't ask me to sit by while the three people who matter most to me risk their lives. I am fighting with you on the battlefield and that's final."

Even though I know it kills Khari to do it, he nods his head. "I need to gather the Jabari. T'Challa said to meet him in the field near the northwest border." He says, and before he goes he cups Alex's face and kisses him, like he knows this may be the last chance he will ever get to do so. All of Alex's anger fades away as he kisses Khari back just as passionately, so much so I look away.

"I'll see you on the field." Khari says, and I can hear the agony in his voice.

Alex nods, leaning his head against Khari's. The two pull away from each other, and Alex watches as Khari makes his way up the mountain, out of sight. My brother turns back to me and nods. "Let's go." He says, and without another moment of hesitation we both activate our suits, jumping into the air and flying back towards the city.

-

As soon as I heard Shuri was back, I rushed to her lab to see her. As I make my way down the stairs, still in falcon form, I notice that Bucky is currently having his arm attached by her. I shift back into human form. Once she lays her eyes on me, she rushes over to me and gives me a large hug. Over her shoulder I see Bucky smiling at me. I feel my cheeks warm as I smile back.

She pulls back and shakes her head. "I wish I was coming back home under happier circumstances."

I squeeze her shoulders. "I know, me too."

She leads me over to where Bucky sits, his shirt off and hair pulled up to give Shuri room to work. I try not to stare at him too long, but it's rather hard and I feel myself blushing. Bucky catches this and smirks at me, grabbing onto my hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Will this be done in time?" I ask Shuri.

She nods, picking her tools back up and continuing to work. "Captain Rogers should be here in a few hours, so you should be in perfect shape by then, Bucky."

He nods to her gratefully, looking back to me. "Is Alex fighting?"

"He said since all three of us are, he won't stand by and watch. He's really gotten a good grip on his powers and he's trained with Okoye and I for more than a year now. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"And you? How are you doing?"

I shrug, letting out a laugh. "I'm about to fight off an alien from outer space with the Avengers. It's quite the life."

He smiles at me. "It's quite the life."

-

Once Bucky's arm is on, Shuri sent us to where T'Challa and Okoye are going to meet Steve and the others.

Alex meets up with us on the other side of the palace, complimenting Bucky on the new arm. He says that 'Wakanda looks good on him', which I agree with. Alex and I both have our suits activated while Bucky is wearing an outfit Shuri made for him for the battle. We walk together to the front of the lab where a giant jet, not unlike the ones here, is parked a few yards away.

The Dora Milaje are standing at attention as T'Challa and Okoye greet Steve, who has grown a beard as well since the last time I saw him. Behind him are Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, and the Vision. Alex and I share a glance, both of us feeling strangely out of place being in their company.

As we approach them we can hear what T'Challa is saying, he appears to be informing Steve of the numbers we have. "You have my king's guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." He says pointing our direction.

"A semi stable hundred year old man." Bucky says with a smile at Steve. Steve returns this smile with enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around Bucky and embracing him tightly. When the two pull back, I can see Bucky's whole face is lit up from being with his best friend again.

"How you been, Buck?"

"Not bad for the end of the world." he says, smiling again.

Steve notices Alex and I there, smiling widely at us, saying: "It suits you," gesturing to the suits Alex and I are both wearing. "It's good to see you both."

I smile Steve's way. "It's good to see you too, Steve. I wish it were under better circumstances." I say, feeling Bucky's hand slip into mine.

Steve notices this and smiles gently at the sight, glancing between the two of us. He then turns to his other teammates, saying: "This is Soroya Roberts and her brother Alex. I assume you're both joining us in the fight?"

I nod firmly. "I think you could use a couple of shapeshifters. We're happy to help."

I get smiles and nods from the other Avengers, except Natasha Romanoff, who knits her eyebrows together, approaching me. "Soroya Roberts? The Savage, right?"

I nod to her. "I recall there was once a time we were both puppets under the hammer and sickle."

She smirks. "And here we are. They'd be very disappointed."

Throughout my time in HYDRA I knew of the famous Black Widows and their never ending wins for the KGB. But Natasha Romanoff was known throughout the world. I respect the difficult path she took in leaving that life behind her.

Most of the others go inside, because apparently one of the stones Thanos is after is on Vision's head. They want Shuri to take it off. James Rhodes and Sam Wilson stay outside. Bucky does also, so Alex and I stay right by him.

Sam Wilson approaches us, noticing our combined hands, and glances up at Bucky. "You did a lot in those two years didn't you?"

Bucky glances over and smiles at me. "Sure did."

Sam nods, extending his hand out towards Bucky, who after a moment takes it, shaking it firmly. Sam then turns to me, smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sam."

I smile back at him. "The pleasure is mine. I wanted to thank you for helping Steve keep Bucky safe," I say, gripping Bucky's hand tighter. "I'm truly grateful."

Sam nods to me. "Of course, I'm just glad I could help."

Just then, we hear a loud sound coming from above us. We all look up to see what looks like a large ship coming right towards Wakanda.

"Hey Cap," Sam says into his ear piece. "We got a situation here."

The ship hurtles towards us like a meteor, but as it hits the barrier, it shatters like glass. I hear Bucky let out a sigh. "God I love this place." He mutters to himself.

"Don't start celebrating yet guys, we got more coming. Outside the dome!" Rhodes points out, and sadly he's right. Several ships land in the trees outside the barrier.

Alex curses under his breath. "And I was having such a good morning."

Sam looks at us. "Cap and the others are on their way down."

Bucky and I look at each other. I, like Khari, realize this is my last quite moment with him before the fighting starts. I lean up and kiss him gently on the lips, feeling him hold onto me tightly and kiss me back with just as much urgency and fear of what's to come. He pulls back and leans his head against mine, still holding me tightly.

"Stay close to me." He says, so low only I can hear.

"Always." I tell him, before the real battle begins.


	30. The Battle Of Wakanda

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Steve linked our com channel to the others to stay in contact during the fight. I have to say, it's weird being able to hear the Avengers talking to me in my ear. After that was set up, we boarded these hover crafts to carry us and the armies of Wakanda to the battle field.

Not all of us are in the hover craft however; Sam and Rhodes fly above us and Bruce Banner is wearing what looks like a large iron man suit. He seems to be taking this into battle instead of using his green alter ego.

"How are we looking Bruce?" Natasha asks into her com link. She is in the same hover craft as Bucky, Alex, and I. As is Steve.

We all look over our heads as Banner flies a few yards away, yelling excitedly. "Yeah! I think I'm getting the hang of this. This is amazing, man! It's like being the Hulk without actually—" He trails off, because he trips over a rock and plummets into the dirt.

I see Okoye shoot him a look of annoyance, but he tells us he's fine in the comlink, if not a little less enthusiastically.

"I've got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line." Rhodes says as we all step out of the crafts and onto the field. I had been to this exact part of Wakanda so many times and now it would be turned into a place of carnage and blood. It broke my heart.

Bucky holds my hand the entire time, even as we get into formation, standing in line with the other soldiers. Alex is on my other side, looking around to try and find Khari.

I can't help but stare at the alien ships outside the barrier; how their black paneled walls hold the army Thanos has sent to destroy us all. It's unlike anything I've ever faced. I think I would be insane not to be scared by it. I can tell Alex is too, especially as two of the aliens walk to the edge of the barrier.

From behind us we hear the familiar chanting and grunts of the Jabari. I look over to Alex to see him release a breath of relief. As M'Baku and Khari join us on the front lines, T'Challa turns to them, thanking them for standing beside us. They say something in Xhosa, and thanks to my lessons with Okoye, I think it means: 'of course, brother'.

Wakandan warriors from all tribes cover the field. At the very front center are T'Challa, Steve, M'Baku, Khari, Natasha, Bucky, me, and Alex. If someone had told me a few years ago I would be on the front lines with the Avengers, I would have thought they were crazy. But part of me feels somewhat belonging amongst these people. Not only because they're warriors, but because a lot of them have powers as well. I remember being a young girl when I was trying to control my abilities, feeling like such a freak. But here I am; a freak amongst other freaks.

The two aliens, still standing at the barrier, wait and watch as Steve, T'Challa, and Natasha go to speak with them. While this is happening, Alex moves from my side over to Khari's. I see them join hands just as Bucky and I have.

A loud noise comes from one of the ships. Pretty soon all five of them are rising their top half up, smoke coming from all sides.

Steve, Natasha, and T'Challa make their way back over to us. Bucky, without tearing his eyes away from the ships, asks Steve: "They surrender?"

"Not exactly."

Out of all five ships, comes these horrifying creatures. Their skin is charcoal black with gold lines eteched onto their skin, their four long clawed arms tear at the ground as they rush towards us. Their large mouths with sharp teeth snarl our way. T'Challa begins chanting to his people in Xhosa, all of us left to stare in anticipation and fear as these beasts try to claw their way through the barrier.

"What the hell?" Bucky mutters, and I'm right there with him.

"Looks like we pissed her off." Natasha mutters.

Okoye looks at the beasts in disgust and horror, saying exactly what was on my mind: "They're killing themselves." And indeed they are. They are clawing and tearing at the barrier, trying and failing to get through. Some of the beats are getting cut in half, others are burning. They don't seem to care at all. They're like mindless drones.

A few creatures manage to get through the barrier. The Border Tribe put up their shields, letting the warriors behind them shoot blasts at the beasts rushing towards us, Bucky amongst them. These are the times I wish my suit had the ability to have a holster and gun.

From up ahead Sam and Rhodes send bullets their way. "You see the teeth on those things?" Sam exclaims.

"Back up Sam or you'll get your wings singed." Rhodes says, dropping bombs that send the beasts up in a blaze.

The creatures start to run along the barrier to try and get in on other sides. I hear Banner say: "Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us, there's nothing between them and Vision."

"Then we better keep 'em in front of us." Steve says firmly.

Okoye turns to T'Challa. "How do we do that?"

T'Challa looks between Okoye and me, saying with a sigh. "We open the barrier," he presses a finger against his comlink. "On my signal, open North-West section seventeen."

"Requesting confirmation. You said open the barrier?" Shuri asks.

T'Challa nods. "On my signal."

"Give us as much time as you can," I tell Shuri in the com. "We can't let them get that stone."

"This will be the end of Wakanda." M'Baku mutters.

Okoye sighs and says with a voice of determination: "Then it will be the noblest ending in history."

Steve turns his arm sized shields on and the others get their weapons ready. I share a look with Alex; a good luck and a plea to stay safe. Alex turns to Khari and places a kiss on his cheek, connecting their foreheads for a second. I turn to Bucky, watching as he brings our combined hands up to his mouth and kisses the back of my hand.

T'Challa says something in Xhosa, and the Border Tribe put their shields down, allowing T'Challa to walk in front of us. Being the true king he is, T'Challa crosses his arms over his chest, shouting to all of us: "Wakanda forever!"

And his warriors shout it back, before T'Challa's mask goes on, and the rest of us are running towards the beasts. Us with powers are running considerably faster than the others, none more so than T'Challa and Steve, who are feet ahead of even Alex and I. All of us are running, screaming towards the beats; Border Tribesmen, Dora Milaje, the Avengers. All of us together as one.

"Now!" T'Challa shouts into the com. A small section of the barrier opens, letting the creatures flood through like a storm.

I look over at Alex and nod. With that he shifts into a bear and me into a tiger. The creatures snarl my way as they gain nearer and I pounce, sinking my claws into one of their chests, slashing at the face of another.

T'Challa and Steve are fighting next to each other, the vibranium suit giving them a good advantage with its kinetic energy component. I can't see Khari, but I see a large grizzly bear tearing into the chest of one of the creatures, so I assume Khari is somewhere near him. As I sink my teeth into the neck of another creature, I hear a gunshot from behind me. I turn around to see a creature drop dead just as it's claws come near my head. Bucky smiles my way, watching my back as I continue to fight them off.

"How much longer, Shuri?" I hear T'Challa say into the coms.

"I've barely begun, brother."

"You might want to pick up the pace." He says with a grunt. I look over to him to see three creatures are attacking him at once. I run up towards him, sinking my teeth into one of the creature's heads while T'Challa manages the other two. I look over to Steve and see he smirks my way, having now seen me use my powers. He turns his attention back to the creatures while I rush back over to Bucky. I bite into the head of a creature just as it grazes his back. He looks back at me and smiles.

I shift into a rhino, ramming my horn into four creatures at once, shifting back into a human and letting them drop to the ground. Two more come at me and I shift back into a tiger, lunging towards them with a loud growl.

I hear a yell from behind me, seeing a creature knock Bucky's gun out of his hand and knock him to the ground. Fear rushes through me as I rush towards him, seeing him stabbing the creature with a knife to get it off. I see that he's managing for a moment, so I run over to where he dropped his gun and shift back into human form. I pick it up and shooting at the beasts as I run it back over to him. He pushes the dead creature off of him, getting back onto his feet, taking the gun from me.

"Makes you kinda miss the days when HYDRA was the biggest threat in our lives."

I laugh, taking the knife out of Bucky's hand and stabbing one of the creatures in the chest as it rushes towards me. I then hand it back to him, shaking my head. "You have no idea." I say, shifting in a large wolf and rejoining the fray.

Rhodes is lighting the beasts up with all the ammo he has, but one of the aliens, who talked with Steve and T'Challa earlier, sends an axe at his suit. This sends Rhodes down to the ground with a loud crash.

I look over and see both T'Challa and Steve struggling, but just as I go over to help them, I hear a bear's roar. I turn the see that Alex is being overrun too. I rush to my brother's side, tearing two creatures off of him as he gets back onto his feet. I look him over and feel relieved to see that he isn't hurt. I see that Khari is indeed guarding my brother, stabbing a creature with his wooden spear a few feet away.

"There's too many of them!" I hear Banner yell, as he too gets covered in the creatures.

I run towards Steve, biting into the shoulder of a creature that's pinning him down to a rock. Before I can kill it though, another knocks me out of the way, with two more rushing to me as well. I snarl at them and try to claw my way up but I can't. They have me pinned to the ground. The suit is giving me protection just like it is for T'Challa, but how long will that last?

Just then, I hear a loud noise coming from a few yards away. A large axe flies over my head, knocking the creatures off of me. I get onto my feet and shift back into a human, watching the axe kill the creatures attacking Steve, T'Challa, and Banner. I look from where the axe came from and see a large blinding light streaming from the sky. I notice that electricity is coming off of the axe. Realization comes over me and my suspicions are confirmed as the light disappears and Thor is standing there. The axe flies back into his hand, a look of determination on his face as he stares the aliens down.

By his side are what looks to be a walking tree man and a raccoon with a gun. I can't take a moment to acknowledge how odd that is because I'm too overwhelmed for the backup we surely needed. I hear a laugh coming from Banner as he says: "You guys are so screwed now!"

"Bring me Thanos!" Thor screams, running with his companions towards the creatures coming at them. Clouds form around him as he pushes himself off the ground, lighting flying all around him. As he lets out a load roar, he crashes his axe into the ground, frying fifty creatures at once.

Freak amongst freaks indeed.


	31. Thanos

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

The fighting got easier when Thor arrived. I have to admit, seeing him send lightning bolts at the creatures is really cool. Even his friends are being helpful; his tree friend sending his arms through the chests of the creatures and the talking raccoon is a pretty good shot.

A creature's claws nearly graze me, so I shift back into human form and pick up one of the spears from a fallen Wakandan warrior, slicing at the creatures that way. A huge hoard of them come towards Bucky and I manage to keep a few off his back. Bucky picks up the talking raccoon and begins spinning in a circle, with the raccoon shouting: "Come on! Get some!" The entire time.

I stab one more creature and walk towards Bucky, who sets the raccoon down. He stares up at Bucky and asks: "How much for the gun?"

"Not for sale." Bucky says shooting at another creature a few feet away.

"Okay, how much for the arm?" The raccoon asks.

Bucky and I share a look and then glance down at the raccoon, who as we walk away mutters: "Oh I'll get that arm."

It seems like the amount of creatures is never ending. I turn to Bucky with an idea. "Here in Wakanda they have rhinos that the warriors ride on and shoot from."

Bucky doesn't seem to get what I'm saying, so I grab onto his arm and give him a pointed look. "I'll shift into one so you can shoot them from above and I'll impale them with my horn."

Bucky has a look of both amusement and confusion. "You want me to ride you?"

"Just don't think about it too hard." I tell him, stepping back a few feet as I shift into a rhino. I turn my head to look at him and gesture for him to hop on. With a shake of his head he does so. I begin sprinting through the creatures, jabbing them with my horn and watching them fall to the ground from getting hit with Bucky's bullets. My idea is working.

Or at least it was for a while. We hear a distant rumbling coming from the alien ships and it makes me stop. Shifting back into a human, I realize a second too late that Bucky is still on top of me. He comes crashing to the ground, bringing me down with him. We both look towards the barrier as he helps me to my feet. My breath catches in my chest as something travels under the barrier and breaks through the ground, looking like rotating blades that rip across the grass like a lawn mower.

"Fall back! Fall back, now!" T'Challa screams into the coms, just as he jumps away from the blade about to crush him.

I shift into a harpy eagle and grab hold of Bucky's arm, flying him away from the blade. I drop him a little ways away, finding with a sinking in my stomach that another set of them have popped up.

"Focus that fire on the left flank, Sam." Rhodes yells.

"I'm doing it!"

I help to fight off two creatures attacking Okoye and Natasha, with Bucky still firing at the creatures a few feet away. One of the blades is coming right at us and there's nothing we can do.

The four of us brace ourselves just as Wanda Maximoff drops to the ground, waving her hands in the air and lifting the four blades up into the sky. She sends them flying towards the creatures rushing towards us, crushing them instantly.

Not only did she save our lives, but she did it with the coolest powers I've ever seen. Natasha shares my look of amazement, while Okoye says with a gesture to the now fallen blades: "Why was she up there all this time?"

With Wanda now on the field, she manages to fend off a lot of the creatures, giving Okoye, Natasha, and I a bit of a break. Bucky goes over to where Alex and Khari are struggling to fend off some of the beasts. I'm about to go there as well when Sam says into the coms: "Guys, we have a Vision situation here."

"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve yells.

"I got him!" Banner yells.

I look to Wanda and she nods her head. "We're on our way." I tell Sam, but one of the aliens from before slices at Wanda, sending her down into a ditch created by the blades. She steps on her stomach, putting her blade to Wanda's head.

"He'll die alone. As will you." The female alien says.

Natasha, Okoye, and I all walk to separate parts of the ditch, with spears in all of our hands as Natasha tells the alien: "She's not alone."

With a nod from all of us, we charge her. The alien swings at Natasha, who deflects it with the middle of her spear. Okoye and I run up the sides of the ditch and swing at the alien at once, watching as she ducks and swipes at our legs as we jump down. She misses and the three of us begin to attack her at three different angles.

"Guys! Vision needs back up now!" Banner yells, clearly fighting off the other alien brute.

The alien swings at us again, her spear barely grazing my chest. For some reason she seems to be wining this fight despite one of us being a general and two being assassins. Okoye blocks another blow from her as we all duck, watching as another blade passes over our heads. The alien kicks at Natasha's head and sends her flying back. She then strikes at Okoye, she and I both hold off her sword with both our spears. But she's too strong. She sends Okoye flying back with a kick and me with a headbutt.

Natasha gets back onto her feet and splits her spear in two, rushing towards the alien. I manage to push myself off my feet and jab my spear into her leg as Natasha manages to disarm her. She starts to fight us by hand. She deflects Natasha's blows with her bare hands, pushing her to the ground and almost stabbing her in the chest. Before she can I use my spear to knock her back, just as Wanda gets back up and uses her powers to send the alien flying into the air. Another blade comes by as, shredding her into bits and sending blue blood flying at Natasha and me.

We both glance at the other two women lying on the ground in front of us, and then at each other, with Natasha taking the words right of of my mouth: "That was really gross."

Bucky shouts my name and falls down by my side, looking me over: "Lena, you alright?"

I nod, touching his face gently. "I'm fine...come on...we need to get to Vision."

Thor flies towards the ships and starts blowing them to pieces. Across field I see Alex has shifted into an elephant, stepping on the beasts and jabbing them with his tusks. Both Khari and M'Baku are by his side, stabbing the beasts and chanting loudly. The fighting still continues as we run across the field, Avengers and Wakandans alike fighting for their lives. I try not to focus on the Wakandans falling all around us, with the creatures screeching without mercy. It takes all my willpower not to go and help them. I know we have a job to do. Wanda uses her powers to fly over towards Vision. I decide to shift into a harpy eagle, picking up Bucky's metal arm and flying us over to Vision, who is lying against a log.

Steve is standing near him, smiling at Bucky as I set him down on the ground. He pats him on the back, looking completely exhausted. Steve smiles to me also, wincing as I lightly touch the cut on his face, hoping it isn't too deep.

Vision lets out a yell of pain and we all look over to him.

"What? What is it?" Wanda asks, kneeling down next to him.

Vision looks around, genuine fear in his eyes. "He's here."

I share a look with Bucky and Steve. We all know that the real fight is starting now. The wind seems to blow quieter and the fighting on the field seems to become more distant. The sun itself seems to dim it's light, like the universe acknowledges Thanos's presence. Since he has the power to wipe out half of it, I wouldn't be shocked if that was actually what was happening.

Bucky loads his gun again and the others are getting prepared as well. I frantically try to figure out what I should shift into to fight off a mad titan. But I'm coming up with blanks.

"Everyone, on my position. We have incoming." Steve says. The others begin rushing over, including Khari and Alex.

"What the hell?" Natasha asks, clearly noticing the change in atmosphere as well. I look over to T'Challa and he senses it too. My animal instincts are going haywire; urging me, almost pleading for me to shift. Due to my heightened senses, I can always tell when a storm is about to come, like a calling in my bones. This is similar to that, but this isn't any normal storm.

Over near a fallen tree, an electric blue portal opens with grey smoke pouring out onto the ground. An eight foot tall titan walks through, his face ice cold and with something resembling pain in his eyes. His skin is a deep purple, his blue and gold armor looks new and not at all worn down by battle. On his right hand is a gauntlet, holding five different colored stones with one slot missing: the stone Vision has. He gets it and half the universe dies.

"Cap...that's him." Banner says, as if anyone was confused who Thanos was. As I stare at the titan, I don't think I've ever been more scared in my life. I think everyone here is in that same boat.

"Eyes up. Stay sharp." Steve says, beginning to rush towards Thanos.

One by one we try to stop him. Banner sends a punch his way, but using one of the stones, Thanos makes Banner pass through him; getting stuck in the rock wall behind him. He sends Steve flying into the air, hitting the ground. T'Challa lunges at him, but Thanos catches him and pushes him down the ground as well, his kinetic energy blast doing nothing. Sam flies in, shooting at Thanos, but he too is sent tumbling to the ground.

I glance over at Vision and Wanda, who seem to be trying to destroy the stone with it still in him. With a glance at my brother, I know we have to try to give her time to do so.

Rhodes rains hell down on Thanos, but using the stones he crushes his suit up and sends him to the ground. Alex and I shift into lions, pouncing at Thanos with our claws out, but he smacks his hand into Alex, sending him flying towards a tree. I manage to get a scratch in before he holds onto me tightly around the neck. I see Khari send his spear flying and Bucky's bullets raining down on Thanos, but it's no use. Thanos throws me against the ground hard. I feel my vision blur and my head ache. I know I hit my head too hard. I can feel I'm about to pass out. I try to force myself to stay conscious, but I feel my eyes flutter shut. The last thing I see is Thanos throwing Khari aside and Bucky flying over where T'Challa still lays unconscious.

I don't know how much time has passed, but my eyes begin to slowly open up. I feel a sharp pain on the side of my head. I don't have to check to know blood is there. I've shifted back into human form and I feel my human arms trying to lift me up, but I can't do it. I see Thor push his axe into Thanos's chest. He says something I can't hear, even with my enhanced hearing. I see Thanos say something else, bringing his gauntlet up. My heart stops dead in my chest as he snaps his fingers and a bright light flashes around us.


	32. The Snap

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I watch as a look of utter horror goes over Thor's face. Thanos uses the stones again to create another portal, vanishing into thin air and leaving Thor's axe behind him.

Steve sees me struggling to get up, grabbing hold of my arm and back, pulling me onto my feet. We both go over to Thor, both of us panting and hopelessly confused.

Thor stares down at his axe, his mouth agape and his eyes filled with shock and failure.

"Where'd he go?" I ask him, but he doesn't reply.

Steve takes a step closer to him, his eyes growing more and more panicked. "Thor? Where'd he go?"

"Steve? Lena?" I hear Bucky asks, his voice sounding different.

Steve and I both turn towards him. I feel all the air get sucked from my lungs. Bucky's eyes go wide with fear and confusion as his arm turns into dust, as do his legs, his other arm, and his torso.

Steve and I both stumble towards him. I feel tears fill my eyes and a sob wrack my chest as Bucky and I make eye contact, before his gun hits the ground and Bucky turns to dust before my eyes.

Steve and I both fall to our knees where Bucky laid only seconds ago. We both reach for that small piece of land, touching all that remains of Bucky Barnes.

I feel a sob escape my mouth and I don't hold back. I let out a scream of agony that is shared, but not expressed, by the look in Steve's eyes.

I glance over at the field and see one by one the warriors of Wakanda dusting away, leaving the ones who remain wondering around in pain and confusion.

I hear a sob come from Khari. I turn towards him, watching in horror as Alex's arm begins to dust away. I practically throw myself towards my brother. Khari reaches out towards him, their hands touching for a moment, before Alex dusts away like Bucky did. Khari lets out a wail of agony, but it's not even close to mine; the scream I let out mixes with what sounds like a roar, some of the animal in me seeping through. I feel my heart shatter into a thousand pieces, knowing nothing can ever put it back together again.

Okoye comes over to us and I see tears spilling down her cheeks. I know T'Challa is gone too. She looks at my face and then around at the others, pieceing together who else has parished. She falls to her knees at my side, wrapping her arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder as I sob into hers.

"What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodes asks.

I lift my head up enough to see Khari, who is just sobbing as he leans over where my brother once stood. I reach out towards him. He comes over to us, wrapping an arm around me and Okoye, his sobs mixing with ours.

"Oh god." Steve says, and I can see the tears in his eyes too. We all just sit there for the longest time. All of us feeling defeated, all of us feeling like we failed the universe. All of us now mere broken shards, lying on the ground next to the dusted remains of the ones we lost.


	33. Aftermath

**PART III: ENDGAME**

__**  
POV:**   
**Soroya**

Chaos. I thought I knew what that word meant, but I was wrong. I had never known true chaos until now. During 'the snap' as we have now nicknamed it, Shuri also dusted away. We found that out when we searched the palace for her. Both of the Wakandan royals were dead now, leaving only their mother behind.

After the initial shock of the event blew over, Steve came up to me and held my face in his hands, saying to me through his own tears: "We are going to find him. I promise you, we will find him."

I nodded to him. My voice was raw from crying and screaming, but I forced the words to come out anyways: "When you find that son of a bitch, you call me. I need to be there Steve. I have to be there when you capture him."

Steve agreed to this, and I knew he would keep that promise. He and the remaining Avengers flew back to their base in New York. They offered to have me come with them, but I said I needed to stay here for a little while. The queen mother was about as shattered as I was after hearing of the deaths of both her children. I remember she fell into my arms and cried for several hours. She refused to talk to anyone but me for a few days. She knew I was the only one who knew what she's was going through. The only one besides her who had lost everyone. I wished I could comfort her, but all I could do was cry there with her and mourn T'Challa and Shuri together.

The first night I couldn't sleep. I just wandered around numbingly until I came to Bucky's farm house. I laid in his bed and cried into his pillow, holding onto a shirt of his that had been lying on the floor. It still smelled like him.

The next morning I knew I had to find Khari. It didn't take long; he had been lying in Alex's room, clutching one of Alex's shirts to his chest. I crawled into the bed next to him and held him as both of us continued to sob. When we grew too exhausted to stay awake any longer, we both fell asleep for most of the next day. Okoye found us and told us that most of the council had lived. Since M'Baku and Ramonda were still alive, Wakanda was in safe hands. All that was left was to hold a funeral for the fallen king and princess.

The Avengers came back to Wakanda to honor T'Challa and Shuri. We also held a separate funeral for the warriors who had died during the battle. After the ceremony, Steve pulled me aside and told me what was going on outside the barrier. World leaders were dead, people were confused, crashed airplanes, explosions, riots. The world had erupted into chaos.

I went to Okoye and Khari after Steve told me that and asked them what they thought I should do. Okoye assured me that Wakanda would survive fine without me and that I should go help the others. She said when things settled here she would join me. Khari agreed to this, saying the rest of the world needs Soroya Roberts more than Wakanda did. I hugged them both tightly before I left on the jet to go back to New York with Steve and the other Avengers.

The flight back there was quiet. The whole time Steve held my hand tightly, knowing precisely how I was feeling right now. When we arrived at the Avengers base, I couldn't help but take a moment to gawk at it. Never in my life did I think I would be here.

They took me to a room that is filled with some of the most advanced technology I've ever seen. There's a hologram of the earth with the number of people who died during 'the snap', and pictures of the people in our lives who perished. I see a picture of Bucky and Alex amongst these photos and I have to look away.

Steve informed me that they're currently trying to track Thanos down, but are having little luck. The other thing they're trying to do is figure out what an item Nick Fury left behind does.

"He had activated it right before he died," Natasha said sadly. "But we have no idea what it's for."

The item was behind a glass wall, being held on some sort of stand. I leaned forward and turned to them. "It's a pager."

"Yes," Natasha says. "But who is it paging?"

For the rest of the day, we made a public statement telling the world about what happened and why their loved ones were gone. I helped them send the videos out to several parts of the world, hoping the news reporters who are left would broadcast it. We were right. Within six hours the whole world knew who Thanos was.

That night Steve offered me the rooms of any of the fallen Avengers, but I felt too weird sleeping in a dead person's room. Natasha said I could sleep in her room and I took her up on that offer. She put a mattress on the floor in front of her bed and gave me pillows and blankets, which I really appreciated.

The next several days were filled with us trying to figure out the pager as well as helping the people who were also affected by the snap. We helped people who were injured during the snap or were trapped. We have started to talk with the leaders of the world to try and find a way to rebuild, but all this won't take a few days. What Thanos has done will take years to fix.

This morning I woke up to find Natasha gone. I forced myself out of bed and went down stairs, finding her and Steve starring at one of the holograms.

I walk up next to them and see they are starring at the final count of those who perished in the snap. It's four billion human beings. All gone.

"This is a nightmare." Steve mutters.

Natasha doesn't tear her gaze away from the screen. "I've had better nightmares."

I wipe a tear that falls down my face. "You know I've always believed that there's good in everyone. That even the most terrible souls had the capability for redemption...but what person with even an ounce of goodness in them could do this?"

Steve pats me on the shoulder, just as Rhodey, which is apparently what he goes by, walks in. "Hey...so that thing just stopped doing whatever the hell it was doing."

We follow him back into the room with Nick Fury's pager, finding Bruce already in there. We all stare at it; it's no longer beeping or showing the gold star with red and blue behind it. It's simply a blank screen.

"Whatever signal was sent it finally crapped out." He says, sounding slightly frustrated.

"I thought we bypassed the battery." Steve says.

"No, we did," Rhodey says. "It's still plugged in, it's just stopped."

Steve sighs. "Reboot it and send the signal again."

"We don't even know what this is." Bruce says.

"Fury did," Natasha sounding rather tired. "Just do it please. And you tell me the second you get a signal. I want to know who's on the other end of that signal."

Natasha and I turn to leave, but behind us is a woman. She has long blonde hair, a stern and confused expression on her face. I stare at her uniform and see a gold star surrounded by blue and red, I know the signal must have done its job.

"Where's Fury?" She asks.

Steve appears at our side, pointing to the pager. "That signal? It was to reach you?"

The woman looks to the pager and back to us, nodding her head. "Where is he?"

"He's gone," I tell her, crossing my arms. "Just like half of all life in the universe."

She stares at me in shock and disbelief, looking between Natasha and Steve like somehow they'll assure her I'm wrong.

"A titan named Thanos used something called the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life. He used a gauntlet to hold all of them and he still has it with him. We're trying to track him down now."

The woman nods. "Before I got the signal I watched people I knew and cared about disappear before my eyes. I'll help you find Thanos. I'll help you make this right."

I like her. I nod my head to this mystery woman, a smile forming for the first time in days. "What's your name?"

She smiles back. "I'm Carol Danvers. And you are?"

"I'm Soroya Roberts. This is Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes." I say, pointing to each of us individually.

Carol looks at Steve with raised brows. "Steve Rogers? Like Captain America?"

He raises his brows too. "You know me?"

"Every American knows who you are."

"You're from earth?" Bruce asks, eyeing her outfit.

"I am...I've just been gone for a while. I've been trying to look after several planets in other star systems, so it's been hard to come back and visit."

Steve is silent for a moment, before looking to Carol and asking: "There is something I would like you to do for us."

"And that is?"

"One of our team members is lost somewhere in space. We haven't seen him since everything with Thanos. Could you find him?"

"Whose your friend?"

"Tony Stark."

She raises her eyebrows again. "Howard Stark's son? The billionaire weapons maker?"

"We may need you to catch up on some things," Steve mutters. "But yes, it's Howard Stark's son."

She nods her head. "I'll find him. It may take a few days, but I'll return him to you."

I smile at her again, feeling the act to be taxing and taking a lot of energy. "Thank you, Carol."

Steve walks over to the table and grabs one of the communicators, the ones Shuri made that have unlimited range. Thinking of Shuri wipes the smile right off my face. I watch as Steve hooks her up, helping Carol place the communicator on her.

"Welcome to the Avengers." Steve says. She gives us a small smile, nodding her head to us as she heads towards the door. We follow her out and watch as her body begins to glow, shining like a star as she floats off the ground. She nods her head to us one more time before shooting off into the sky like a rocket.

"I am sure Stark is fine." I try to assure Steve.

He nods his head, looking away from the sky and at me. "I just hope he isn't dead. The Avengers aren't the same without him. Things will be a lot harder to repair if he's not here."

"I want you to know Steve, that I will not rest until the world can feel safe and happy again. I will do whatever I can to help you all repair what Thanos has done."

Steve pats me on the shoulder again. "Bucky once told me of your optimism and inner strength. He was right."

I really felt the weight of that compliment, not only because he's Captain America, but because he was Bucky's best friend. The fact that Bucky said that about me makes me feel like breaking down again. But I grip Steve's arm tightly and head back inside, hoping that once we track down Thanos, we can get Bucky and Alex back. I hope the chaos around us will disappear for good.


	34. First Trip To Space?

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

The next two weeks were busy and a part of me was glad for it. Any spare moment of time I wanted to cry and scream until my lungs gave out. But that feels like giving up to me, and I haven't lost hope yet. I still have hope that Alex and Bucky will be returned to me. But their absence weighs on me like a pair of barbells.

I've spent the past few days back in London, trying to help Parliament deal with the deaths of the entire royal family. It's not easy. We're trying to come up with a temporary solution for now. Steve has been helping with a drug lord taking advantage of the disappearance of the people after him; he's been going on a selling and killing spree in Mexico and South America. Rhodey has been in France dealing with the loss of half their government officials. Thor hasn't really come out of his room since everything happened, still feeling guilty for failing to kill Thanos. Bruce has mostly stayed in the compound monitoring everything alone with the raccoon, who is apparently named Rocket.

When Natasha and I returned to the compound, Steve informed us that Carol contacted us about Tony Stark. She found his ship. He's still alive. Steve also said he called a woman named Pepper Potts. Natasha explained to me that's his fiancé. She arrived a few hours ago and she looks probably just as well as the rest of us. She's a very kind woman, strong and confident as well. Natasha and I sat with her until we heard a ship from outside. Everyone else had been trying to occupy themselves and not sit in the horrible anticipation of waiting. But at the sound of the ship, we all rushed out together, finding Carol carrying a large ship down to the ground.

The ramp to the ship opens up and a blue robotic looking woman is carrying a malnourished and exhausted looking Tony Stark. Steve rushes up to him, and the two exchange a few words. Tony talks about losing 'the kid', with Steve telling him that we all lost. I watch as Pepper runs up to her fiancé, letting out a sob of relief as she wraps her arms around Stark. The loving look the two share fills me with so much jealousy and pain I have to look away. I feel guilty that seeing two people so happy and relieved makes me so miserable.

Rocket goes over to the blue woman and the two share a moment of mourning, so I can only assume they are close. We bring Stark inside and sit him down, having Bruce hook him up to an IV and try to explain the situation we find ourselves in.

"It's been twenty three days since Thanos came to earth." Rhodey explains.

"World governments are in pieces, the parts that are still working are trying to take a census and it looks like he did...he did exactly what he said he was going to do: Thanos wiped out 50% of all living creatures."

We all take a moment to sink this in. As I look around I don't see superheroes; I see a room of people who are broken and angry and driven more than ever to take Thanos down. Holograms of the fallen keep flashing around us. As I see Bucky's face as well as Alex's, I have to hold back more tears.

Stark rubs his temple, saying with a slightly shaky voice: "Where is he now? Where?"

Steve, who apparently shaved off his beard during the wait for Stark's return, shakes his head. "We don't know. He just opened up a portal and walked through."

Stark sighs, glancing over at Thor; who has been broodingly starring at the wall for a good three hours. "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, he's pissed." Rocket explains from the seat he has next to me. "He thinks he failed...which of course he did but there's a lot of that around, ain't there?" He says.

Stark blinks several times and slightly shakes his head. "Honestly until this second I thought you were build-a-bear."

"Maybe I am." Rocket quips back.

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now," Steve says. "Deep space scans and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony you fought him—"

"Who told you that? No, I didn't fight him. He wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the store. Alright? There was no fight, 'cause he's not beatable."

Steve nods in understanding, but still pushes. "Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?"

Stark sputters and makes an exaggerated hand gesture. This is when I know he's about to go off on Steve. I wish there was something I could do to calm him down, but I can't blame him for his anger. God knows I'm angry too.

"I saw this coming a few years back," Stark explains. "I had a vision and I didn't want to believe it. I thought I was dreaming."

"Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus—"

"And I needed you," Stark says, his voice oozing with anger and resentment. "As in past tense, so that trumps what you need. It's too late, buddy. Sorry."

Stark stands up, nearly falling over, but continuing on his rant. "You know what I need? A shave...and I believe I remember telling all you...alive and otherwise," He says ripping his IV out to the detests of Rhodey. "That all we needed was a suit of armor around the world. Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedom or not? That's what we needed."

Steve's voice is filled with sorrow and guilt. "Well that didn't work out did it?"

"I said we'd lose, and you said 'we'll do that together too'. And guess what, Cap? We lost...and you weren't there. That's what we do right? Best work ever in fact? We're the 'Avengers'. We're the 'Avengers' not the 'Pre-vengers'."

"You made your point just sit down, okay?" Rhodey pleads.

"Okay. No no, here's my point. You know what? She's great by the way." Stark continues, pointing to Carol, even as Rhodey tells him he's sick and needs to sit down. "We need you. You're new blood. Oh and you too," He says pointing to me. "If you're here I'm guessing you have some special abilities that we can use since we're a bunch of tired old mules."

Stark gets out of Rhodey's grip and marches right up to Steve's face. I can see the devastation on his face as Stark says: "I got nothing for you, Cap. I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust, liar." It's then I remember what Steve told me when I first met him; how Stark and him broke the Avengers apart because they found out Bucky killed Howard and Maria Stark. My heart breaks for both men, but especially for Bucky. I try to push him from my head, not wanting to let myself think about him too much.

Stark takes the glowing mechanism off his chest, the one I know powers his suits, and shoves it into Steve's hand. "Here, take this. You find him, you put that on...you hide." he says, dropping to the ground. We all rush to his side even as he protests. Another second later he collapses. Carol and Steve carry him to one of the rooms, with Pepper running after them.

Once Stark is settled, Bruce and Rhodey go into the room. I go up to Steve and ask if he's alright; seeing the distressed look on his face as he looks out the compound window.

He nods. "I just hate how things are between us now. But I don't regret what I did to protect him."

He doesn't have to say his name for me to know who he's referring to. I slip my hand into his, feeling my voice grow thick. "I'm forever indebted to you for the lengths you went to do so."

Steve grips my hand tightly. "Vise versa."

Rhodey comes back out, looking wary. "Bruce gave him a sedative. He's probably going to be out for the rest of the day."

Carol nods. "You guys take care of him. I'll bring him an Xorrian Elixir when I come back."

None us have any idea what that means, but that's a question for another time.

"Where you going?" Steve asks as she walks out of the room.

"To kill Thanos." She replies with determination.

Steve, Natasha, and I share a glance before following after her.

"Hey, you know we usually work as a team here. And, uh, between you and I, morale's a little fragile." Natasha says.

"We realize up there is your territory," Steve argues. "But this is our fight too." I couldn't agree more.

"You even know where he is?" Rhodey asks.

"I know people who might."

"Don't bother," the blue woman from before says, standing with her arms crossed in the other room. "I can tell you where Thanos is."

We all walk into the other room and sit down as she explains to us who exactly she is; Nebula, daughter of Thanos. He apparently made her into the robotic being she is as a way of torturing her. My heart goes out to her. I can't imagine how awful that experience was.

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me," She says, starring at the ground. "And when he worked, he talked about his Great Plan. Even disassembled I wanted to please him. I'd ask him where would we go once his plan was complete? And his answer was always the same: 'To the Garden'."

Rhodey nods. "That's cute. Thanos has a retirement plan."

"So where is he?" Steve asks, gathering around a hologram of earth Rocket shows us.

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No ones ever seen anything like it. Until two days ago...on this planet," Rocket says, showing a hologram of a planet that looks eerily like Earth, but somehow different.

"Thanos is there." Nebula confirms.

Natasha and I lean forward to look at the planet, with Natasha saying exactly what'd I had been thinking: "He used the stones again."

"The question is what did he use them for?" I wonder aloud.

"Hey hey hey," Bruce begins. "We'd be going in short handed you know?"

"And he's still got the stones so..." Rhodey trails off.

"So let's get 'em," Carol replies. "We'll use them to bring everyone back."

"Just like that?"

Steve nods. "Yeah. Just like that."

"It's all I've thought about since he walked through that portal. Four billion people; innocent people, people we love are gone and we owe it to them to bring them back." I say firmly.

Natasha nods to me. "Even if there's a small chance we can undo this we owe it to everyone not in this room to try."

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any different than it did before?" Bruce questions.

"Because before you didn't have me." Carol replies.

Rhodey gives her an incredulous look. "Hey, new girl? Everybody in this room is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

Steve and I share a look, both of us impressed by her. If we're fighting Thanos again, we do need her.

Thor, who has been listening quietly, walks towards Carol and stares at her for a moment. She stares right back. He calls his axe into his hands, and I see a small smile form on Carol's lips. This makes Thor say: "I like this one."

Steve stares at the hologram of the planet. "Let's go get this son of a bitch."

And with that all of us get ready. I always wear Shuri's necklace, so I already have my suit. I wait alongside Nebula and Rocket while everyone else gets their gear on.

"So, you can turn into animals?" Rocket asks me. I look down at him and nod. "So like...could you turn into a dragon? Or how about a giant. Then you could just step on Thanos and none of us would have to anything."

I glance up at Nebula and she shakes her head. "Ignore him." Is all she says.

Once everyone is ready we head onto the ship Nebula and Stark arrived in. I was right earlier that Rocket and Nebula know each other, because as soon as we get on he refers to it as 'his ship'.

I tighten my straps and watch as we take off fast into the air. This is when I realize I'm going to space. I'm going to space, in a ship, with the Avengers, and we're going to another planet to kill a titan. If Alex could see me now he would flip over this.

"Okay, who here has never been to space?" Rocket asks looking back at us.

Rhodey, Natasha, Steve, and I all raise our hands, with Rhodey muttering: "Why?"

"You better not throw up on my ship." Rocket says sternly, before Nebula says:

"Approaching jump in three...two...one." I grip the arms of my chair tightly, watching as the outside becomes flashes of purple and gold. Bright lights flash before my eyes as a portal like opening appears in the sky, zapping us through deep space.

I jolt against the seat as we make it to the planet. That was a much shorter trip than I expected. Without another word, Carol flies out of the ship, flying down to the planet to check things out.

The rest of us try to take a breather and prepare ourselves for what's to come. Steve brings out an old compass, one no doubt from his WWII days. Inside is a picture of a beautiful young woman. I have a feeling I'm not the only one here who has lost the one they love.

"This is gonna work Steve." Natasha says.

Steve nods, looking between her and me. "I know it will. Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if it doesn't."

I didn't know either. The last three weeks have been the most agonizing of my life. The first few days after the snap I could barely eat, sleep, or even breathe. But I was able to pick myself up because I knew there was a chance everyone could come back. I've held on to that hope. I have a feeling I'll break for good if this doesn't work.

Carol comes back, looking rather confused. "No satellites. No ships. No armies. No ground defenses of any kind. It's just him."

Well I guess if you destroyed half the universe you would feel too high and mighty to have protection.

"That's enough." Nebula says, and I couldn't agree more. Rocket brings the ship down to the planet, right outside where a little house is built. This house is surrounded by a beautiful mountain snow tipped mountain. Water falls cascade down cliffs, meadows stretch with alien wildlife, and bird like creatures chirp in glee. It's paradise. Thanos's presence here poisons this magnificent place. This planet almost reminds me of a painting I once saw in an art museum in Hamburg. It's breathtaking. But I have no time to appreciate being on an alien planet or admire it's beauty. We have a mission to take care of.

Carol flies in through the roof and blasts Thanos, wrapping her arms around his neck. Bruce, back in his iron man suit, grabs hold of Thanos also, as does Rhodey.

Thor flies in next and uses his axe to chop Thanos's hand off. I hear his screams as Steve, Natasha, and I walk inside the house. I feel my blood boiling as I stare that bastard in the face. I've starred into the eyes of the most horrible people to live, and they don't even come close to how angry and disgusted this man makes me feel. I remember starring into the eyes of Richard Setherton's face before I killed him. I remember the vengeance and anger that fueled my need for closure. I remember how awful I felt after killing him. I swore I would never let vengeance consume me again. That task is about impossible as I look at the mad titan on his knees. I can't help but yearn for his demise. And this time I don't feel guilty for it.

Rocket pushes the gauntlet over, and to the shock and horror of all of us, none of the stones are there.

"No...no no no." I hear myself saying. I rip my eyes away from the gauntlet and back at Thanos.

Steve does the same. "Where are they?" He says, his voice cold as ice.

"Answer the question." Carol says, tightening her grip on Thanos's neck.

"The universe required correction," Thanos explains. "After that, the stones served no purpose beyond temptation."

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce yells, pushing Thanos onto the ground.

"You should be grateful!"

I feel tears streaming down my face. Finally, the band on my self control has snapped. I find myself yelling: "All those innocent people! All the people we love and you act like you're some divine god who saved us? The devil himself will rejoice for your demise."

Before Thanos can reply to what I say, Bruce punches him in the face. Natasha steps forward, asking again with tears streaming down her face: "Where are the stones?"

"Gone. Reduced to atoms."

"You used them two days ago!" Bruce shouts.

"I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me...but the work is done. It always will be...because I am inevitable." He says. I feel like my lungs are shrinking. I find myself sinking down to the ground, trying to physically keep myself from breaking apart.

"We have to tear this place apart. He has to be lying!" Rhodey says, but even I can tell he doesn't believe that.

"My father is many things, but a liar is not one of them." Nebula says, looking down at Thanos with disgust.

Thanos turns to her. "Ah. Thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly."

Thor looses his last bit of self control as well. He swings his axe, cutting off Thanos's head, sending it and the rest of his body down to the floor.

"What did you do?" Rocket asks numbingly.

"I...I went for he head." Thor says, but his voice sounds distant, like he's in another room. I look over to Steve, watching as he drops down to his knees next to me. I finally release the sobs I've been holding in for three weeks. I feel every last bit of my heart become ashes that trinkle down to the floor I sit upon, my lungs full like they've filled up with water.

Steve begins to cry as well, and he doesn't bother to wipe his tears away. He wraps his arms around me and holds onto my tightly, like he's trying desperately to hold both of us together. Natasha slumps to the floor and breaks down too. Pretty soon all of us are sitting amongst our own failures, our own guilt, and our own misery that we know can't be undone.

Mama. Papa. Julian. Alex. Bucky. Shuri. T'Challa. All gone. All dead. I'm left here; broken with no hope of ever being put back together again.


	35. Five Years Later

_five years later..._

**  
_POV:_ **   
**Soroya**

I walk over to the stereo, turning the volume up and waiting for the song to play. I have found that Sia is an artist I really enjoy. Her voice and song beats are easy for dancing to.

I walk to the middle of the studio, staring at my reflection as I begin to move to the music. I recently cut my hair again, with it now resting at my shoulders. I notice the bags under my eyes don't look as prominent today and I don't look as gaunt. I try to smile at myself, but it feels half hearted.

I try to dance whenever I can. Not only did it numb my brain, but it let me pretend I was living a different life; a life I should have had but never did.

After we left The Garden and returned to earth, I immediately went to Wakanda. I told Okoye and Khari the news, even though it was the last thing they wanted to hear. I stayed in my room an entire week. I barely ate or slept. Khari pretty much did the same thing in Alex's room. Okoye came and visited us once a day.

I didn't want to take care of myself. I didn't want to eat or sleep, I just wanted to lie there and sit in my own misery until I grew old and died. But then I thought about all the other people that were suffering just like this. Those people who needed help. I started feeling guilty that I was lying here when I could be doing something to help, but I know that I had no reason to be guilty. Just because I have powers doesn't mean I'm entitled to put my problems aside and focus solely on others. But I can't only focus on me and not on innocent people suffering. That wasn't me. I made a vow to myslef to never change who I was and what I stood for no matter what happened to me; whether that be HYDRA, Killmonger, or even Thanos. I needed to do what was right.

I decided that I need to take this one step at a time. On the ninth day, I got out of bed and took a shower. On the tenth, I washed my clothes and put new clothes on. On the eleventh day, I took a walk outside of my room and ate an entire meal. During that day I went to see Khari and told him of my day by day plan. He decided he would do the same, knowing his nation and the rest of the world needed him.

On the twelfth day I called Steve. He hadn't been doing any better than me. He had stayed in his room for almost as long as I did before coming to my same conclusion: that lying in bed won't change what happened. But we can make a difference by helping the other innocent people suffering.

Steve said that he and and Natasha are going to a meeting in London to pick new government officials. He asked me if I wanted to attend. I took a moment to think about it, but I agreed to do it. The thought of being in a room full of people right now made me want to crawl back in bed, but I had a job to do. Steve said he'd come and pick me up in two days, so I spent those two days making some decisions I was sure about.

I went to Khari and I told him I wanted him to keep hold of the boxes of Alex and my childhood things. There's wasn't anyone I trusted with them more. He promised me he would look after them. Next, I had a talk with Ramonda, Okoye, and Khari. I told them that Wakanda was the closest thing to a home I have, and that because of that I will always protect it, but I had to help the rest of the world too.

Okoye, to my utter shock and amazement, agreed with me and said she wanted to help the rest of the world too. She has always had one allegiance, and that was to Wakanda. When we all looked at her incredulously, she simply said: 'It's what T'Challa would have wanted.' Khari agreed, saying he would do the same because Alex would have wanted him to. Ramonda was sad to learn I would be spending less time in Wakanda, but she assured me that my home would always be here. The council members didn't much care that I would be here less, they haven't warmed up to me much in the last few years.

On the last day before I left for London, I spent it mostly in Bucky's little farm house. I didn't stop myself from breaking down again, but I knew this time I would have to pick myself up again. I did not want to crawl back into bed and start the process all over again. Part of me felt like I was leaving both of them by leaving Wakanda. But I had to accept that Alex and Bucky were gone. That's the only way I will be able to make myself leave. Telling myself they're really dead doesn't make it hurt any less, but it gives me enough strength to get on the jet when it arrived. Okoye and Khari decided to tag along.

For the next few months that's what I did; I went around with the Avengers and helped the people who needed it. This was all made easier because Everett Ross came through with his promise to clear my name. He wasn't one of the innocent lives that had perished during the snap. He was apart of the many people trying to piece the world back together. He and I have become good friends over the past few years as we've worked together.

Khari and Okoye both helped with the problems of the world as well, but they would only do it for a few weeks at a time before going back to Wakanda for the same amount of time. I went back to Wakanda whenever I could manage. My home is mostly at the Avengers compound, where I ended up taking one of the rooms they used for storage as my room.

I felt better when I had Okoye and Khari there. They had become my best friends, their presence made breathing just a tad easier. A small part of me felt better when we helped people, when we helped relieve their pain. But I still felt like I was permanently trapped in a dark cloud.

At the sixth month mark, after a long mission taking down a band of criminals in Mexico, I had a long talk with Steve. He had been going to a group therapy session and said it had been really helping him coup. I asked him if he thought I should attend a session, because I felt like I was crippling under the weight of my grief. I went to about three sessions, and though it did help, it wasn't doing what I wanted it to be doing.

I made the decision to go to a therapist. I've been seeing her once a week for four and half years. It felt great to finally talk about what I had been through. She has not only been helping me with my grief, but also with my post traumatic stress from my HYDRA days. She was shocked and a bit frightened by what I had gone through. I don't think she believed me at first, but after I shifted in front of her that really cleared things up.

It was eight months before I smiled again. It was fourteen before I laughed. And just like with my parents deaths, the pain never really went away, but everyday it got a bit easier. But unlike my parents, I felt like Alex and Bucky took a large part of me when they died. I felt like ghost; like my soul has been ripped from my body and I'm left to wander aimlessly forever.

At the three year mark, my therapist told me to go out on a date. This was probably the hardest thing she ever asked me to do. But since everything else she had me do worked, I decided to humor her. I went out to dinner with a nice CIA agent Everett had introduced me to. His name was Edward Jones. He was handsome, intelligent, and very nice. I found out he had lost his fiancé during the snap, so this was a big leap for him too. The date itself went fine, but we both called it quits before our main coarse. I remember I got back to the compound that night and sobbed. I ended up staying up late talking it through with Steve and Natasha, who have both become two of my closest friends.

I determined that night that there wasn't going to be anymore dates or trying to have another relationship. I told my therapist what had happened and she said I shouldn't give up after one date. I told her that no matter how many dates I went on, no one would ever replace Bucky in my heart. He was the love of my life. My greatest regret was never telling him that. I have gone on a few more dates, with different nice men I've met, but the answer is still the same; they aren't Bucky.

A way of coping my therapist suggested to me was picking up dancing again. She was right; this truly does help me escape, even if it's for a moment or two. The people who owned this dance studio died in the snap, but the senator for New York keeps it open for me specifically to use. I helped him find his daughter, who had been on an archeological dig during the snap and all her team members died. She was left out in the middle of nowhere alone. He said he owed me.

I come here whenever I have free time. I've even been branching out more with the kind of dancing I do. I've been practicing more contemporary dancing as well as tap, which will always be my favorite.

I also spend my free time trying to catch up on even more of modern pop culture, since I finished Shuri's 'Catch Up List' a long time ago. There are a lot of really great dancing movies that have come out in the last decade. None more so than La La Land, which has now become one of my favorite movies. There's a whole show that aired in America where movie stars enter a dancing competition and that's been fun to watch. My favorite show though to have come out in the last twenty years was Gilmore Girls, which was a great escape for me when the one year anniversary of the snap came along. Steve joined in me in some of my 'catch up' adventures. He and I watched all of Friends together. Sometimes it was hard to watch, because Chandler reminded me of Alex. Overall though, I loved it.

The song I've been playing ends and my my movements cease as well. I sit down on the floor, wiping the sweat from my head and trying to stretch.

"Ginger Rogers has nothing on you." Steve says, smirking at me.

I feel myself jump at his voice, but I smirk back at him, sitting myself up and going over to the stereo to turn it off. When I turn back to him, I pick up the water bottle I had on the floor near the mirror. "Is something wrong?"

I would say Steve looks sad, but I don't think any of us have been truly happy since the snap, so he looks sadder than usual.

"Bucky's sister Olivia just died."

I remember when Alex gave Bucky the information about his sister. I remember when he came back from visiting her, how excited and happy he was to be reunited with her. I wish I would have met her. I wish Bucky could have said goodbye to her.

"How did she go?"

"In her sleep," Steve says. I know he mourns for her like he would his own sister. "There's a funeral for her tomorrow. Her son said that she left some things for me, and I just thought you might want to come."

I nod. "Of course I'll come," I say, walking past him out as I leave the studio. "What are we having tonight?"

Steve sighs, following after me. "It's Nat's turn to pick, so probably something Italian."

I pat him on the shoulder. "As long as you're paying, Steve. After that delivery man ripped me off last time I refuse to pay for anything at that restaurant."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Yes, yes I know. Nat said the same thing."

A few years ago it was weird to have such trivial conversations with all of them. It was weird to live part time in the Avengers compound. It was weird to call myself a superhero. But now it really does feel like what I was meant to do, like I was meant to become a part of this family. I can feel Bucky and Alex when I have moments like this. I can feel them agreeing with me, from wherever they are, that I'm doing what I was born to do. I just wish they were here to do it with me.


	36. Olivia Barnes

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I hate funerals. Olivia Barnes was a clearly a very loved person, because so many people came to honor her. She lived a long and beautiful life. I wish Bucky got the chance to see his sister one last time before this happened.

I sat next to Steve during the ceremony, holding his hand the whole time. He was the second one to throw dirt into her grave, after her son. When the attendants started to leave to go back to her house, Olivia's son stayed behind for a moment and thanked Steve for coming. When he shook hands with me and told me his name, I used all my self control not to cry. His name is James Buchanan. He was named after Bucky. Looking at him I can see some resemblance, particularly in the eyes. I'm assuming the steel blue eyes are a Barnes family trait. As I look into James's eyes, I can almost for a second see Bucky starring back at me.

We drive back to her house, where I see people both young and old there to honor Olivia. James introduces us to a lot of them, though they pretty much know both of our names. I was so used to being anonymous to everyone except HYDRA or law enforcement out for my throat. But things have changed. I was an Avenger now and with that came being a house hold name. It is very strange.

An older woman, probably a friend of Olivia's, asks me why I am at the funeral. She knows Steve was like a brother to Olivia and wondered if I am Steve's fiancé.

I shake my head at her. "No I was...I was a friend of the family." I end up telling her. I didn't want to have to explain that I was in love with Olivia's older but younger looking brother. It's too complicated and honestly it's still not something I like to talk about.

The guests start looking through family photos. I look over a nice old man's shoulder as he looks at one particular album. On one of these pages I see a face that makes my heart stop. I ask him for the album, finding myself starring down at Bucky. The pictures are from back in his time. Most of them are with his siblings or with Steve. I knew he had three; Rebecca, Charles, and a Olivia. It was so clear all of them loved him dearly. Seeing Bucky in these pictures is so different; he looks so light, so free of the burden that was thrown on him. He looks happy, truly happy. Seeing his smile makes my heart sing despite the sadness it brings me. I study how his eyes crinkle up and his nose scrunches. He seems to be laughing, and if I focus hard enough, I can almost hear it now. I feel an ache in my chest that starts to become unbearable.

I find a couple of pictures of him and Steve, a much smaller Steve. It's shocking to see him back then. They both look really happy, even Steve having a lightened look to him. On the next page I find a picture of just Bucky alone, looking handsome as ever in his army uniform in what looks to be his backyard. As James passes by, I ask him if I can keep the photo. I have a feeling Steve told him about who I really was to Bucky, because he smiles at me sadly and nods. Careful not to bend the photo, I tuck it into my jacket, shutting the album and bringing it over to Steve. He looks through each photo with a mixture of happiness and sadness that even I don't understand. Steve ends up taking two photos; one with Bucky, his family, and Steve, as well as one with Bucky and Steve laughing together.

I actually have a fascinating conversation with a friend of Olivia's who had been a dancer. She and I discuss our favorite dancers of her time and what Hollywood icons she loves. I seem to impress her with my knowledge of the topic. She was a ballet dancer and performed all across the country, especially during war time. Most of her dances were for Swan Lake. She said she met her husband during one of her performances at an air force base. They've been married for sixty two years and have four kids. Part of me envies her, thinking of a life I could have had if things had been different, if I'd been born in a different time.

Steve had some great conversations as well, apparently with some people he used to know. It's weird seeing someone in their eighties interacting with someone whose older than them, yet looks more than half their age. It really makes me glad I didn't think about this too hard when Bucky and I were together.

James pulls Steve and I aside after awhile, telling us he has something for both of us. I knew Olivia left things for Steve, but for me? James brings us up to her room where he provides us with two boxes. On the side of one says Steve and the other says Bucky. I take Bucky's, sitting on the edge of her bed as I look inside.

"I added some pictures in there that I felt belonged to him. Steve I did the same for you," James says, walking back towards the door. "I'll give you two a minute.

Inside Bucky's box is a worn down stuffed brown bear. Steve informs me was named Mr. Brown Bear by Bucky when they were children. I hug the bear tightly to my chest as I continue to look in the box. There's an old watch that stopped working long ago. As I ask Steve about it, he says it was Bucky and Olivia's father's. Before Bucky went off to war it was given to him. There's also quite a few pictures as James said, and I look at each one for a long while.

There's a baby picture of Bucky; wearing the cutest christening outfit I've ever seen. There's a couple from him growing up; depicting him and his younger siblings playing around with toys. A lot of these have Steve in them too; like one of him and Steve looking about seven, playing with airplanes. There are a few pictures of teenage looking Bucky and Steve at what looks like a carnival of some kind. There are picture of Bucky with very beautiful women, the three of them at some sort of event. I show Steve the photo and he laughs lightly.

"Bucky was quite the ladies man back in the day."

My jaw drops. "No way."

Steve nods. "He had dates all the time. I remember being so jealous of how women practically fell at his feet. He wasn't arrogant about it though, he treated them all very kindly. He always tried to hook me up. Of course that never worked, but the effort was appreciated."

I shake my head, still in disbelief. "I can't picture him like that. Was he really that flirtatious?"

Steve leans closer, whispering playfully like he's telling me a secret. "I remember once he winked at these two women while we walked into a movie. They both giggled and blew kisses to him."

I look back down at the photos. "He looks so happy here. I wish I could have seen him like this. I hate what HYDRA did to him, how deeply it affected him. Now that I see how different he used to be, I hate them even more."

Steve places his hand over mine. "He may have been different after HYDRA, but that doesn't mean he wasn't happy with the life he had," he drops his voice a little lower as he says next: "I saw him go on dates all the time, with many women. He never looked at any of them the way he looked at you. You say you never saw him truly happy? You were everything to him."

I feel a tear fall down my cheek. I wipe it away, trying to take a deep breath. "That means a lot, Steve."

He nods, squeezing my hand. "If I could have picked anyone to be with my best friend, it would have been you."

I smile at him, appreciating the compliment. I find myself remembering when I told Khari the same thing about Alex. Steve's approval does mean a lot to me, even if Bucky is gone.

Under the photos in the box I find one last item. It's a necklace, but not just any necklace, they're dog tags. I grab onto them, seeing his name written across it. More tears slip down my cheeks as I place it around my neck, grabbing it tightly and feeling like some part of him has been returned to me.

Steve smiles sadly at the dog tags, shaking his head. "I thought those had been lost," he says sadly, before wiping his eyes and gesturing to the boxes. "James said these are ours."

I hold the box a little tighter. "Really?"

Steve nods. "Bucky would want you to have that stuff."

I nod, pressing the box gently to my chest. We both make our way out of the room, bringing the boxes into the jet before reentering the house. Right before we cross the threshold again, Steve says to me:

"I want to show you something before we go back home."

"What?"

"Something that I think will be good for both of us after today. Something cathartic."

I loop my arm through his as we step back into the house, nodding my head. "I'm all for feeling cathartic." I tell him, before each guest lifts a glass to honor Olivia Barnes. She truly was an amazing woman, who today gave me back a piece of Bucky. I'll forever owe her for that.


	37. Star Spangled Man

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I glance out of the window of the jet, confused to see the Washington Monument down below.

I look over to Steve from the co-pilot seat. "Why are we in D.C.?"

"You'll see." Is all he says, which is weird because Steve has never been known to be cryptic.

He lands the jet right in a large park, where people don't even bat an eye at the high tech vehicle parking in the grass. I guess when superhero's have been around for fifteen years then things don't shock you anymore. I know nothing shocks me anymore, especially since I get emails from a talking raccoon.

The sky is growing darker as we walk through the always cluttered city. I think D.C. is better at night; all of the lights in the city shining from the buildings and monuments, making the whole city glow with life. It also seems less chaotic, allowing one to really take in the city's beauty.

My confusion deepens as Steve leads us to the Smithsonian, especially since it's closed. But I think this isn't the only time Steve has broken in, because he knows exactly what door to use. I feel slightly wrong for doing this, but as we make it into the main part of he museum, I like being able to see these attractions without so many people here.

I finally understand why Steve took me here as we make our way down the WWII hall. We stop when we reach the 'Captain America; The Living Legend and Symbol of Hope' exhibit.

Steve leads me into the room, flipping on the lights. I am hit with a wave of emotions; Bucky's face is everywhere. I remember he told me he came here to learn about his past. Seeing this exhibit made him want to discover who he really was. I've wanted to come and see it for myself, but I just never had the time.

Steve follows behind me as I look around, reading each plaque I come across. I soon find myself staring at the giant painting of Steve, Bucky, and the men I understand were called the Howling Commandoes. I walk up to the painting and I feel an ache in my chest at seeing Bucky's face. As my eyes drop down, I see a mannequin under his portrait. It's a pair of dark pants, a purple button down jacket and a belt filled with weapons. I touch the jacket gently, hearing Steve say from behind me:

"That's what he wore while we went on missions to take down HYDRA. He used to joke that they saved the best fashion for the sidekicks of Captain America."

I smile sadly, forcing my hand away from the jacket. I gesture to the empty mannequin under Steve's painting. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that was you?"

Steve shrugs. "It's not stealing if it was mine."

"Is it back at the compound?"

"In a box in my closet."

I smile lightly and continue on looking. My attention is pulled to a large memorial board with Bucky's face on it. In the description it talks about the achievements he made on the battlefield, as well as him being the best friend to Captain America 'on both school yard and battlefield'.

It shows his death date being in 1944. I hate that my mind thinks about him falling into that ravine, being dragged into HYDRA's clutches and being tortured. I hate that everyone thinks he died then. Things could have been different if someone had just looked for him. Maybe an allied soldier would have found him instead of a HYDRA one.

A tv screen next to the board shows silent footage of Steve and Bucky laughing at a joke someone told off screen. Watching him laugh makes me almost able to hear it. God knows I would trade anything to hear it again.

Feeling tears prickle in my eyes, I move onto something else, finding that there's a board detailing the life of Steve. Of course it talks about his childhood, which mentions Bucky quite a bit. It even shows a few pictures of them I hadn't seen before. It says that the day Captain America was 'discovered' was at a Stark Expo in Brooklyn, New York. I turn back to Steve and say:

"Stark? So that would have been Tony's father?"

Steve walks up to the timeline and smirks at it. Next to the description of the event is a clip from the newspaper that day depicting the event. Steve touches it lightly and says: "Howard made all the weapons for the U.S. army. He was holding an expo to showcase some of them. Right next to it was an enlistment office, so I snuck away from the show in order to to enlist. That's where I got recruited for the super soldier experiment."

"Was Bucky with you?"

Steve nods. "He was the one that made me go actually," he says, smiling at the memory. "I had gotten beaten up in an alley by some jerk I stood up to at the movies. Bucky came and saved me. He told me that he was taking me to the expo that night on a double date. He was always trying to set me up, but both of the girls only had eyes for him."

I shake my head. "It's only because people can be shallow and they didn't see the wonderful person you are."

He grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly, continuing to stare at the news paper clip. "That was the day before he went off to war. He had gotten his orders that morning."

I feel a tear fall down my cheek silently. "He never came back from that war."

Squeezing my hand again he says: "I don't think any of us have."

There is a small room in the exhibit that allows for people to watch 'The Movie Magic of an American Hero'. Steve doesn't want to go inside this one, but I force him to.

There are several movies to pick from, but the one I pick is called 'The Star Spangled Man'. Steve's cheeks light up with embarrassment when he sees the one I picked. This reaction makes me more curious about what it will show. I can't help but laugh as thirty dancing girls in American colors appear on the screen, singing as Steve walks onto stage.

Not only does Steve look ridiculous in his outfit, but hearing him say corny dialogue surrounded by beautiful singing women is better than any movie I've ever seen. As I listen to the lyrics of the song, I genuinely laugh.

'We can't ignore there's a threat and a war we must win  
Who'll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin?  
Who will indeed lead the call for America?  
Who'll rise or fall, give his all for America?  
Who's here to prove that we can?  
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!'

I turn to Steve and all he does his shake his head. "The army originally didn't want me in combat, so they had me selling war bonds with shows like this. If I had known they filmed these I would have burned every copy."

'Who waked the giant that napped in America?  
We know it's no one but Captain America  
Who'll finish what they began?  
Who'll kick the Krauts to Japan?  
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!'

When the film ends, and the image of Steve holding three women on a motorcycle fades to black, I stand and applaud. Steve shoots me a glare.

"That was a beautiful performance."

"Alright, I get it."

"I mean Gene Kelly should have retired once he saw this."

"That's enough."

"Do you keep those tights in a box in your closet, too?"

Steve rolls his eyes and shoves me with his hand playfully. "Don't tell any of the others about this."

I nod. "You're secret is safe from me, Star Spangled Man."

"That nickname better not become a habit."

"Only on special occasions."

We make our way out of that room to the delight of Steve. I look at a few other items and boards in the exhibit before Steve and I agree to leave. But before we do, I notice a booth near the entrance that sells Captain America souvenirs. There are Captain America flags, keychains, patches, pencils, and even journals that say 'Star Spangled Man' on the cover.

Steve looks at the journal then at me, saying sternly: "Don't even think about it."

As we sneak our way out of the museum, I loop my arm around Steve's again. "Thank you for this, for today. It's felt like I've gotten a piece of him back."

Steve nods. "He told me he came here to find out who he was. Ever since he told me that, I like to come here and...and just for a moment pretend he's still here. I've watched those films a million times. He's in a lot of them too, except the ones I made on my tour. Those who weren't in those should be thankful for that."

"I miss him," I whisper. "So much."

Steve squeezes my arm. "I do too. I'm just thankful he never got the chance to watch one of those performances. He never would have let me forget it."

"And neither will I." I promise him.

"You go back to Wakanda for the weekend, right?"

I nod, seeing the jet come into view. "Yeah, but I'll be back early on Monday."

"Well, tell Khari and Okoye I said I've missed them the last few weeks."

"Apparently one of the council members is sick. I know they'll come back to the action as soon as things are sorted out."

Once we reach the jet, Steve let's me get on first before following me in. As he walks to the pilots seat he asks: "Do you want me to drop you off there?"

"That would be great, Steve, thank you."

Steve pauses, keeping his eyes on me before finally muttering as he sits down: "Happy birthday, Soroya. I know that's tomorrow."

I smile sadly at him, feeling my voice grow thick. "It won't be a very happy one, but thank you."

Steve nods, having nothing more left to say. Because what was there to say? Every birthday of Alex and Bucky has been unbearable. My birthdays have become an event to dread. It hurts to think of Alex on my birthday. When he died he was 32. I am turning 35 tomorrow. I'm not a little sister anymore, I'm the older sibling.


	38. The Older Sibling

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

The mountains of Jabariland are beautiful. I never get tired of seeing them. When Steve dropped me off, I took Bucky's box of belongings and put it in my room in the palace. I feel better having it here, for some reason it feels safer.

Since it was late at night when I arrived, I waited until the next morning to see everyone. I said hello to Okoye first, who gave me a beautiful short spear she helped design for my birthday. It makes me wish I could carry weapons on my suit.

I spent some time with her and Ramonda before heading to see Khari. He was in a meeting with M'Baku, who greeted me with a wide smile and a birthday wish. Khari and I went back to his house when he was done, where his parents were nice enough to surprise me with a birthday cake.

I absolutely love Khari's parents. I remember when Alex first met them, how nervous he was to take that step in his first relationship. So nervous in fact, he made me come with him. I instantly fell in love with Lekan and Makena. Both of them are so open and warm, so kind to everyone they meet. It's obvious where Khari got his optimism and idealistic views. Alex and I came here to visit them all the time. They really took us into their family. In another life, if things had been different, we just might have become family for real. But even with how things turned out, they both treat me like part of the family.

The cake Makena made was delicious; it was chocolate with strawberry frosting. She also made me pasta, which she knows is my absolute favorite. I told everyone I didn't want gifts, but knowing the Chikere family, I knew that was a lost cause. Makena and Lekan gave me beautiful necklace with a carved wooden flower. I teared up when they gave it to me, hugging them both very tightly. Khari gave me a present I loved just as much, while on one of our missions he apparently did some shopping for me. He bought me a pair of beautiful tap shoes so I no longer have to borrow pairs from the studio I dance at.

This is all I would have ever wanted for Alex. This family is something I wanted for him more than anything. Even as children I would dream of the day he met a nice girl or boy that made him open up his heart. I'm so glad I got to see it happen, if only for a while.

After the celebration was over, Khari took me onto the roof of the house. This is where Khari does all his painting. As we walk towards the edge of the roof, I pass by at least thirty paintings lying around.

"You've been painting a lot lately." I point out. Last time I visited there weren't nearly as many canvases.

Khari looks at them, nodding his head. "It's been helping...it's a good distraction."

I nod my head solemnly, knowing just how he feels. It's the reason why I dance; because I can forget my pain, if only for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Khari says after a few moments. "I tell then every year you don't want to celebrate your birthday, but they wouldn't take no for an answer."

I shake my head, placing my hand on his arm. "It's fine, really. They were so sweet. I love the gifts and the cake was amazing. I can't thank them enough for how they took Alex and I in. It just makes me think what could have been..."

Khari closes his eyes, his voice thick as he says: "I think about that everyday."

I gave myself a lot of credit for holding back my tears until now, but there was no reason to hide them from Khari. "I keep thinking about how I'm-I'm not a little sister anymore. I'm older than him. I don't want to be older than him." I weep. Khari collects me into his arms and holds onto me tightly.

He holds me for a long time as I cry into his chest. I feel so grateful I have him here to share my pain. I know he misses Alex as much as I do, and that makes it that much easier to bare the weight of that grief.

"I went on a date the other day," Khari says. This makes me pull back and stare at him in shock. He shrugs as he sees my reaction. "I thought I would try..."

"Well, how did it go?"

"He was very kind, very considerate. He is a Jabari soldier named Kellan. I didn't even make it through the whole date before I broke down and told him I couldn't continue with it," he shakes his head, wiping a tear away. "I thought that maybe after five years I would move on...but I loved Alex. I don't think I'll ever move on from him."

I nod my head, feeling my lip quiver. "I know just how you feel."

"So I'm guessing you haven't tried to go on anymore dates?"

I shake my head, staring at the glowing lights of the torches throughout the city. "My therapist keeps telling me I should, but I know there's no point. She keeps telling me to move on. She says going on dates will lead to me finding love again. She says through time I'll make peace with what's happened. But you know, the only peace I get is when I help other people deal with what Thanos did. Being able to bring them some sliver of hope for the future gives my life meaning, but I can't seem to bring myself to find that same hope."

"Hope to be happy again?"

I feel the tears stream down my face faster as I continue. "I don't go on dates because I know I won't fall in love again. No one can ever take Bucky's place. I would rather keep myself alone and miserable, than open myself up to loving someone else. I don't want to move on. If I do, what if that person is ripped from me too? I'm afraid to love again. And that's the hardest part of all this. I fought so hard for so long to never loose sight of who I am. Over these past few years I've felt my hope for the future, my optimism, my faith slowly break away. I feel like I'm becoming the hardened, cynical person I've fought so hard not to become."

Khari wipes the tears from my cheeks. "You aren't becoming a cynic. Not wanting to open yourself up again is normal given what's happened to you. Everyone doesn't want to risk getting their hearts broken again. I'll tell you the reason why you aren't losing sight of yourself; you could have stayed in bed for the rest of your life and locked out the world, but you chose to step up and help those who needed you. Despite everything you were going through, despite facing a man who killed billions of people with no remorse, you still believe in the good in people. After all these years you still fight for the good in this world. I know that just by the smile on your face when you see all the people of earth coming together to heal and rebuild. You're still the same woman. Even though you've been through more pain than you deserve, that pain isn't going to change you into something you're fundamentally not."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

I try to take a deep breath and rub at my eyes, using my therapists method of counting each breath until I calm down.

"Thank you, Khari. I wouldn't have gotten through these past five years without you by my side."

"Neither would I," He says smiling sadly at me. "You're my best friend, and no matter what gets thrown at you, you will always be the selfless and compassionate woman that I look up to. That Alex looked up to."

I curl up against his chest again and release a breath, feeling his arms wrap around me, one hand stroking my hair gently. I always wanted my brother with me, but now his absence felt like a gaping whole in my chest that expands with every breath. For several moments, I feel like I'm drowning; the only thing keeping me from slipping into the void is Khari's arms around me.

I feel a buzz in my pocket. I jump back at first, still not used to carrying around a cellphone in my pocket. I pull away from Khari, wiping my eyes and seeing that Steve is calling me. I open my phone and press the answer button, hearing his voice on the other line sounding rather confused.

"Soroya, I need you to come back here."

"Why? Is everything alright?"

"Well, I don't know really. It's hard to explain. I know it's something you'll want to hear. I'll be there in twenty minutes, I'm on my way there now."

"Alright, I'll meet you at the palace." I say, before pressing end on the call. I look back at Khari, who takes the words right out of my mouth.

"Duty calls?"

I nod, standing up and offering my hand out to him, which he takes. "Can you do me a favor and take the shoes and necklace back to my room?"

Khari nods. "Of course. What does Steve need?"

"He didn't say," I tell him as we make our way back into the house. "But whatever it is, he sounded like he was bouncing off the walls."

"Like he was excited?"

"Kind of. I'll tell you what news he has for me later tonight when I get a chance. Though I bet it's nothing, probably just another mission."


	39. Hope

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Steve leads me into the living room area of the Avengers compound, pointing to a jittery man pacing in front of Natasha.

"This is Scott Lang, otherwise known as Ant Man. Scott this is Soroya Roberts."

I walk up to him and shake his hand. "You fought in Germany right? With Steve?"

He nods, looking rather proud. "Yeah, yeah I did. I mean he was the one that called me, and I just happened to be available..." he trails off, coming back into reality after a moment. "You uh superhero too? You got powers?"

I nod. "I'm a shapeshifter."

Scott raises his eyebrows, letting out a chuckle. "That's awesome! So, like you can turn into a lion? Or like an elephant?"

He has the excitement of a child. I can't help but smile slightly as I nod my head. I've never having met someone who has geeked out about my powers before.

"Scott," Steve says. "Tell her what you told us."

Scott shakes his head and nods all at once. "Right, yeah, okay. So five years ago before...you know Thanos happened... I was in a place called the Quantum Realm."

"What's that?"

"Like a microscopic universe that you have to be extremely tiny to access. I was supposed to be pulled out, but after Thanos, I was left in there for five years."

I can't even imagine how that must have felt, how lonely and frightening that would be for someone. "I'm so sorry, that must have been terrible."

"But it wasn't, because to me it felt like hours not years. The Quantum Realm has different rules than here."

I shake my head, looking between Scott and the other two. "So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying time works differently in the Quantum Realm. I'm saying if we find out how we can navigate it, we could perhaps enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time and exit at another. Like before Thanos."

I feel my heart rate increasing and I feel slightly shaky. My therapist warned me if I start to feel that way, I'm about to have an anxiety attack and I should calm down. I inch closer to Scott, my voice as steady as it can be as I ask: "Are you proposing time travel?"

Scott nods. "Maybe...maybe we could get everyone back."

I feel a wave of emotions flow through me, but I can't decipher any of them right now. I feel the tears in my eyes, but my mind is focused on the nausea that rolls through me, so much so I need to sit down. Nat pushes over a glass of water and I nod to her in thanks, focusing on counting my breathing and taking small sips.

Steve bends down next to me, resting a hand on my arm. "You okay?"

I nod, letting the tears roll down my face. "I want to believe this can happen....I just don't want to get my hopes too high."

He squeezes my arm. "We are going to go see Tony in the morning. You want to come?"

I nod, wiping my eyes. "Yeah, yeah of course. I need to tell Khari and Okoye about this pretty soon, but I don't know if I should get their hopes up just yet or not."

Steve lets out a sigh. I know he doesn't want to hope either. "Well, we'll know tomorrow."

-

"Does it hurt when you shift?" Scott asks me.

We arevsitting in the car on our way to Tony Stark's house. Steve is driving, Nat is in the front passenger seat, while Scott and I are in the back. The entire ride Scott has been asking me questions about my powers.

"It used to," I tell him. "But my friend made me a suit that numbs my nerves as I shift. I don't feel anything now."

"You can even turn into aquatic animals?"

I smile at him. "Yes, I can."

"And you can talk to them?"

"Yes, but only in that form."

"How did you get them? Your powers I mean."

I stare out the window, at the trees swaying in the wind and the sun shining down on us, saying nonchalantly: "I was kidnapped and experimented on as a kid. I was then forced to become an assassin by a Russian based government, where they used the powers they gave me for their gain."

Scott nods looking shocked and rather concerned. "I uh...I got my powers because I broke into a rich guy's house...and he gave me his suit."

I turn my head back to him and chuckle. "Must have been a very nice man."

Scott's smile turns bitter sweet as he says: "He was. He really was."

A beautiful cabin comes into view, and I feel more and more shocked as Steve slows down the car, realizing this is Tony Stark's house. I never imagined he would buy something so quaint. Tony is walking up to his porch as he sees the car. All four of us get out at once, but our eyes aren't on him, but the five year old girl in his arms.

My heart warms, finding comfort that at least one of us was truly able to move on. Natasha nods to Tony and I see him return the gesture, looking to the rest of us and nodding towards the porch. He drops his daughter onto the ground and tells her to go inside. Tony disappears inside as we sit down in comfy porch furniture, returning moments later with refreshments.

Tony smiles warmly at Steve, Natasha, and Scott, but pauses on me with creased brows.

"You were there the night I was rescued. Never got your name." He says.

I smile at him. "Soroya Roberts."

"And what is it you do?"

"I'm a shapeshifter."

Tony raises his eyebrows impressed. "Well, alright then. Welcome to my humble abode, Teen Wolf." He says, handing me a drink.

I know he's making a reference to something, but I have no clue what it is. I sit down with the others and wait patiently as Scott explains everything to Tony. He listens with skepticism on his face the whole time.

"No...we know what it sounds like." Scott stammers.

"Tony, after everything you've seen is anything really impossible?" Steve chips in.

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?"

I share a look with Natasha and she shakes her head. This gives me comfort knowing I'm not the only clueless person here right now. I don't have an education past middle school, so all of what he said is like a foreign language to me.

Tony hands Steve a drink, looking back at Scott. "In layman's terms, it means you're not coming home."

"I did." Scott replies.

"No. You accidentally survived. It's a billion-to-one cosmic fluke. And now you want to pull a...what do you call it?"

Scott looks down at the floor, looking rather proud of the name he came up with as he says: "Time heist."

"Yeah, time heist. Of course. Why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable. Because it's a pipe dream."

I feel my heart begin to sink, but I see that look of determination in Steve's eyes and I know he's not giving up that easily. "The stones are in the past. We could go back, we could get them."

"We can snap our own fingers and bring everyone back." Natasha says, her voice determined as well.

"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

"I don't think things could get worse than this." I say, more to myself than to Tony.

"I don't believe we would." Steve argues.

"I gotta say it. I sometimes miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise." Tony says. He really didn't need it to lay it on that thick.

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel," Scott argues, sitting down in the seat across from Tony. "All right? It means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events—"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to the Future?"

I honestly thought that's how time travel worked. But I'm not going to be the one to argue with the genius and neither is Scott, who shakes his head and says: "No."

"Good. You had me worried there because that would be horseshit. That's not how Quantum Physics works."

"Tony," Natasha says, who I know is trying to hold it together. "We have to take a stand."

"We did stand. And yet here we are."

"There has to be a way," I now speak up. "I lost everything when Thanos came. If there's anything I've learned from all of you it's that nothing is impossible." Tony doesn't budge though.

Scott drops his voice, leaning a bit closer. "I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back, to bring everyone back, and you're telling me you won't even—"

"That's right, Scott. I won't even. I can't."

The door to the house opens again and Tony's little girl hops onto his lap, saying proudly: "Mommy told me to come and save you."

I smirk, remembering when I used to sit on my Papa's lap like that. Tony hugs his daughter, telling her: "Good job, I'm saved," He says, resting his head on his daughter's tiny shoulder. "I wish you were coming here to ask me something else. I'm honestly happy to see you guys, I just...oh, look, the table is set for six." He mentions, standing up with his daughter wrapped around him like a monkey.

"Tony. I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance."

Tony smiles and shakes his head. "I got my second chance right here, Cap. Can't roll the dice on it," he says, going back towards his front door. "If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch."

We decide against that invitation. As the four of us walk back towards he car, Natasha shakes her head. "He's scared."

"Well he's not wrong." Steve says.

Scott looks between us in confusion. "Yeah, but, I mean, what are we gonna do? We need him. What, are we gonna stop?"

Part of me wants to believe what Tony said; that it's impossible and I'm getting my hopes up for nothing. If this doesn't work it will feel like loosing them all over again. I couldn't bear it. But if there's even a chance to get Bucky and Alex back...

"I want to do this right, so we're gonna need a really big brain." Steve says, looking at Natasha and me. After a moment it sinks in and I nod my head, looking over to Scott to find him still confused.

"Do you even know where he is?" I ask.

Natasha nods, getting into the driver's seat. "Don't worry, I know exactly where he is."


	40. Big Brains

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Some members of the Avengers haven't been around the last few years. Rocket, Nebula, and Carol were going from planet to planet, trying to help out other people suffering. Tony obviously found a quiet life, Thor is in New Asgard in Switzerland, and apparently Bruce has kept himself rather busy. He's been living in New York, where he has done an experiment to morph the Hulk and himself into one being. It was rather jarring to see at first.

Scott whispered into my ear: "I'm not the only one freaked out right?"

I looked over my shoulder to him and shook my head. We ended up meeting at a diner, with Bruce sitting at the side of the booth with a chair. Natasha and Steve are sitting across from Scott and I in the booth.

A nervous looking waitress took our orders. Bruce ordered an assortment of foods, all of which came to him in huge portions; the eggs, for instance, are given to him in a large mixing bowl. Steve and Natasha weren't hungry, but Scott and I definitely were. I ordered some bacon and Scott ordered some toast. Scott watched me in awe as he saw the way I eat meat. I don't like to do in front of people because the serum makes me odd around meat and blood. Scott found it fascinating though.

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating here," Bruce says. "Try some of that." He pushes the bowl of eggs towards Scott, who shakes his head no and bites into a piece of toast, sneakily stealing a piece of my bacon.

Scott stares at Bruce for a moment, saying what is on all of our minds. "I'm so confused."

Bruce nods, looking more relaxed than I've ever seen him. "These are confusing times."

Scott shakes his head. "Right, no, no that's not what I meant—"

"Nah, I get it. I'm kidding! I know it's crazy," He says gesturing to himself. "I'm wearing shirts now."

"Yeah...What? How? Why?"

"Five years ago we got our asses best. Except it was worse for me 'cause I lost twice; first Hulk lost then Banner lost. Then we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce." Natasha tells him.

"I did. But for years I've been treating Hulk like some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then, I start looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in the gamma lab, and I put the brains and the brawn together...now look at me. Best of both worlds."

Scott still looks confused, but I smile at Bruce genuinely. "I'm glad you were able to sort it all out. It's a good look for you."

Scott looks at me like I'm crazy, but Bruce flashes a grin at me. "And you know it isn't as hard to find clothes as you would think."

I nod. "Duly noted."

Three kids from another part of the diner approach Bruce, nervously asking if they can take a picture with him. In the first few months of working with the Avengers, I saw Steve and Natasha get asked things like this all the time. After maybe four months, I got asked by a little girl to get a picture with me and it was an odd feeling; having someone look up to you as a role model, as a hero. Rhodey once showed me that an autograph I signed was sold on eBay for five hundred euros. I burst into laughter, finding that both ridiculous and surreal. I get asked for pictures and autographs all the time now, like I'm Angelina Jolie not a shapeshifter.

It wasn't just that though; there are people who want to hold my hand in gratitude, to thank me for what I had done for them and their loved ones. In the past five years, 'The Savage' is no longer a name that adorns wanted posters and fills people with fear. 'The Savage' is now a symbol of hope, and I wish HYDRA could see me now.

"One hundred percent, little person," Is Bruce's reply to the children. "Come on, step on up. Do you mind?" He asks Scott, handing him the phone.

Bruce poses with the children and says: "Say 'green'." They all say it together as Scott snaps the photo.

Scott nods, looking at the phone. "That's a good one. Did you want to grab one with me? I'm Ant Man."

The kids look very uncomfortable and start to shake their heads.

Scott back tracks. "They're Hulk fans, they don't know Ant Man." He tries to give the phone back but Bruce argues that they do. This goes on for a couple minutes and I feel increasing pity for Scott. As the kids finally go away, with their phone back, I hand Scott another piece of bacon, whispering to him; "If it makes you feel any better, I am an Ant Man fan."

Scott smiles slightly at me, bumping his shoulder gently with mine. "Thanks."

"Bruce. About what we were saying..." Steve starts, as Bruce turns his attention back to the topic at hand.

He leans back in his seat, looking between all of us. "The whole time travel do-over? Eh, guys, it's outside my area of expertise."

"Well you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible, too." Natasha recalls.

Bruce smiles at her, contemplating this for a moment.

"We know it's a long shot," I tell him. "And a large part of me doesn't even want to get my hopes up. But we have to try. And you're the only one who can help us."

Bruce sighs, smirking. "I can try, but I can't guarantee anything."

I shrug. "In our kinda life, guarantees are a luxury we don't have. But as long as we try I think we can achieve something."

Scott looks between Bruce and me, whispering; "How are we all going to fit in the car?"

-

We had to fly to San Francisco to get a van. We all questioned why this van was so important, but apparently this van holds the portal to the Quantum Realm. I wanted to ask why such a smart person such as Hank Pym would store something like that in a van, but I just let it go.

We loaded the van onto the jet and flew back to the compound, where we placed it in the garage. Over the next few days, Bruce has set up a system to do a couple test runs.

From the control panel he made, Bruce lets out a shaky breath. "Okay, here we go. Time travel test number one. Scott fire up the...van thing."

Scott opens up the back doors and I watched as a hollow cube begins to glow in mixtures of orange and blue. If this is the portal, I'm starting to see what Scott means by you need to be small to enter it. I don't even think I could fit in there.

"Breakers are set, the emergency generators are on standby." Steve says, walking back into the garage.

Bruce nods to him. "Good, because if we blow the grid, I don't want to loose Tiny here back in the fifties."

Scott looks up alarmed. "Excuse me?"

"He's kidding," Nat says, glaring at Bruce. "You can't say things like that."

Bruce back tracks, but only half heartedly. "It was a bad joke."

I pat Scott on the shoulder. "Don't worry, the fifties are amazing. It's not so bad a fate."

Scott gives me a fake smile. "Then why don't you do the test run."

I walk over to Bruce and drop my voice down. "You were kidding right?"

Bruce gives me a look of worry and exasperation. "I have no idea. We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke or none of it is."

I turn back to Scott, trying to give him a reassuring smile. "It's all good. Put your helmet on." I say, moving to stand next to Natasha, wrapping my hand around Bucky's dog tags that hang around my neck.

"Scott, I'm going to send you back a week," Bruce says, starting his machine up. "I'll let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Make sense?"

Scott waves it off. "Perfectly not confusing."

"Good luck, Scott. You got this." Steve says reassuringly.

Scott looks at Steve in the same off childish wonder he gives me. "You're right. I do, Captain America."

Bruce flips a switch and Scott is sucked inside the portal. I feel Nat slip her hand into mine and I hold onto her tightly as Bruce says; "On the count of three; one...two...three!" He flips the switch again. We are all left to stare at a young boy in Scott's suit.

"Uh...guys. This doesn't feel right." The boy says confused.

"What's going on?" Steve asks.

"Who is that?" Nat demands.

I look at the boy closer. "Is that Scott?"

The boy looks at us exasperated. "Yes, it's Scott!"

Bruce flips the switch again and sends Scott back through the portal. This time an old man is in his place, wincing and saying his back hurts.

"Bruce, what's going on?" I ask.

"Hold on. I need a little space here." He tells Steve, who moves to stand next to Nat and me.

"Can you bring him back?" Steve asks.

"I'm working on it!"

Bruce sends Scott back through and now a baby sits on the floor, looking up at us in confusion.

Steve stares at it. "It's a baby."

Bruce points at the infant. "It's Scott!"

"As a baby!" Steve shouts.

"He'll grow!"

I look at the baby frantically. "Bring Scott back!"

"When I say kill the power. Kill the power." He tells us. Nat goes over to the other set of controls, leaving Steve to now grip my hand tightly as we watch the small infant lick the glass helmet around him.

"And...kill it!" He says. Nat pulls the lever just as Bruce flips the switch one last time. Scott reappears, looking completely normal.

"Somebody peed my pants...but I don't know if it was baby me or old me...or me me." I let out a sigh and walk up to him, helping him take his helmet off and touching his shoulders gently.

"You okay?" I ask him.

He nods, patting my arm. "Yeah yeah, I'm good, I'm fine. I just need to sit down for a bit and process what just happened...and change my pants."

"Time travel!" Bruce shouts, acting like this just went smoothly. We all look at him in differing levels of glares and incredulous looks. He shakes his head. "What? I see this as an absolute win."

Steve makes his way out the back door and I follow after him, finding him standing with his arms crossed and his hand rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"We'll keep trying." I tell him.

He looks back at me, nodding as I walk up next to him. "I know we will...I just miss the days when the most crazy advancement in science was me."

I chuckle. "I know how you feel. I used to think the science behind my serum was complicated. Now I just saw a man go through the entire human life span in thirty seconds."

"Strange world." He agrees.

I hear an engine roaring. Steve and my attention are drawn to a car speeding towards the compound, pulling up right along side us. The car looks like it could pay off three house mortgages, so I know it's Tony before he pulls the window down.

"Why the long faces?" He asks. "Let me guess, he turned into a baby?"

He really is a genius. Steve and I seem to silently agree upon this and nod to him.

"Among other things, yeah. What are you doing here?" Steve asks.

"It's the EPR paradox," Tony explains, getting out of his ridiculously expensive car. "Instead of pushing Scott through time, you might've wound up pushing time though Scott. It's tricky, dangerous. Somebody could have cautioned you against it."

Steve nods. "You did."

"Oh, did I? Well thank god I'm here. Regardless, I fixed it," He says, holding up a small device. "A fully functioning time-space GPS."

I feel my heart soaring in my chest. Now this isn't a pipe dream or something I'm trying to hold off from hoping for too much. Now it can happen. Now we can really do this. I refuse to blubber and sob in front of Tony, so I hold it back, smiling the widest I ever have at him.

Steve smiles at him too as Tony moves towards the trunk of his car. "I just want peace. Turns out resentment is corrosive and I hate it."

Steve nods. "Me too."

Tony's eyes fall to me. "This goes for you too, Animorph," He says. I feel rather confused, but Tony nods his head towards the dog tags I'm wearing and realization sets in. "I don't hold anything against you and I want you to know that."

I nod to him, having a gut feeling Steve informed Tony already of who I was and more importantly who I was to Bucky. I was worried this would be a problem for Tony moving forward, but I'm glad it won't be.

"We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost, I hope, yes. Keep what I found, I have to at all costs. And maybe not die trying."

I think we could all agree upon that. Steve certainly thinks so, holding out his hand. "Sounds like a deal."

Tony takes Steve's hand and the two share a long look, one that tells me the past has truly been put behind them. I know Bucky would be happy to know they finally made peace. Tony opens the trunk of his car, bringing out Steve's shield. I can't help but stare at it in awe, having never seen the famous shield before in real life.

Steve stares at his shield and sighs. "Tony, I don't know."

"Why? He made it for you," Tony replies. I can only conclude he means his father. "Plus, honestly, I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding."

Steve straps the shield onto his arms. For the first time in several years, I see Steve not as my friend, not as the guy who pays for my take out, but Captain America. I see a hero.

"Thank you, Tony." Steve says sincerely.

"Will you keep that a little quiet? Didn't bring one for the whole team." Tony says. I feel an ache in my chest; his wise cracking attitude reminds me a lot of Alex.

Tony takes another thing out of his car, looking back at us as he closes the trunk. "We are getting the whole team right?"

"We're working on that right now." Steve tells him.

"Some of them are off world, so it may take a bit before they can get back here." I tell him.

"Ah yes, I forgot the blue man group and the talking rat were helping fight crime too. Well, the more the merrier, isn't that right Sheena?" He says, waking towards the entrance to the garage.

I know he's talking to me, so I nod. I once again have no idea what he's referencing. "The more the merrier." I agree, following after him with Steve right behind me.


	41. It Worked

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I cried for a solid hour after Tony arrived, feeling overwhelmed that soon I'll be reunited with Alex and Bucky. But the fear that this won't work still haunts the back of my mind. I know I couldn't handle losing them all over again. But I didn't want to think about the possibility we could fail, I wanted to focus on the possibility that we could win.

Nebula and Rocket came back to the compound, where Rocket picked up Bruce and the two of them flew to Switzerland to find Thor. When Nebula came in she greeted everyone respectively, nodding her head to Tony. Rhodey came in after her, and as soon as he saw Tony he gave him a large hug. I know having Tony here makes Rhodey feel over the moon. He is one of the only other Avengers that has constantly been helping on earth the past few years. He and I have become good friends because of it. He smiles at me and holds me in a tight embrace, doing the same for Steve and Nat.

"How's Mexico been?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "It's been nothing I can't handle," he says, eyeing Natasha. "Are you going to get him?"

Nat nods solemnly. "Yeah, I'm leaving in a few minutes."

I turn to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. "To go and get Barton? You want me to come with you?"

She squeezes my arm thoughtfully, but shakes her head. "No, this is something I have to do alone. I'll call if I need backup."

I nod, bringing her in for a hug. "Be careful." I whisper to her.

I feel her nod, winking at me as she pulls back. "Always."

Bruce and Rocket quickly returned with Thor, but he looks much different than he did the last time I saw him. Steve and I had been sitting on the couch when Bruce and Rocket walked in, followed by Thor; long hair and unkempt beard, wearing baggy unwashed clothes and possessing a beer belly. In his gloved hands is a can of beer, covering his eyes is a pair of sunglasses.

He opens his arms wide, smiling. "Steven! It's wonderful to see you," He says, wrapping himself around Steve in an awkward embrace that Steve returns with some hesitation. He turns to me then, giving me the same awkward embrace. "And Roberts! Still turning into savage beasts I hear?"

I can tell even through the chipper attitude he is showcasing, that he took our defeat from Thanos hard. My heart goes out to him. I force a normal smile and nod my head. "Thor, it's great to see you. You look handsome as ever."

He pats my shoulder, taking another sip of beer before saying; "I missed that warm affection of yours. I could have used that, especially when Noob Master would come online and kill me."

He walks towards Tony, who gets the same embrace that we did. Steve and I share a look of confusion, not having any clue what he's referring to.

The next couple of days we spent trying to build the time machine; Tony and Bruce are doing most of the actual scientific and engineering work along with Rocket and Nebula. Steve, Scott, Rhodey, and I are being used for carrying heavy objects to and from places. We occasionally take lunch and dinner orders as well. At one point we needed to lift the entire bottom half of the machine up so Rocket could repair a wire. Steve and I are the ones with enhanced strength, so we had to do it.

It was the heaviest thing I've ever carried. Even Steve was struggling under it's weight. Tony shook his head at us. "Come on, you two. Put your backs into it."

We both shot him a glare, with me grunting out; "Why don't you come here and lift this thing?"

He shakes his head. "I'll leave the hard labor to you, Lady Hawk."

We were so exhausted afterwards that we sat in ice baths for a few hours.

Nat returned with Barton about three days after Thor. He looks very different from what I've seen of him on tv. He looks colder, hardened by the last five years. He always gave off such a warm and stoic vibe, its rather shocking to see him like this now. Nat looks devestated whenever she looks at him. I know she feels guilty for not having been there for her best friend the past few years. I wish I could make her feel better, as well as him, but I know there's nothing I can do.

Barton and Nat came into the common area as I was on a beverage run for everyone. "We haven't met yet. I'm Soroya Roberts." I say with a smile, holding out my hand to him.

Barton seems taken aback by my friendliness. It makes his expression turn softer as he says: "I'm Clint."

I bring my hand back to my side and look over to Nat. "Tony, Nebula, and Rocket are still working on the machine. Everyone else is prepping Scott for the test run we're doing."

Nat nods, touching Clint's shoulder lightly. "How about you go see the others. I'll be there in a minute."

He nods, walking out of the room and disappearing around the corner. Once Clint is out of sight, Nat takes a deep breath, wrapping her arms around my waist. I hold onto her tightly, gently patting her back.

"It was awful. I should have been there for him. I should have done more—"

"You were running the Avengers and helping to rebuild what Thanos destroyed. Nat, don't you dare blame yourself. You've already done so much. You need to stop blaming yourself for not being able to help everyone."

She pulls back from me, rolling her eyes. "Like you don't do the same."

I shrug. "I never said I don't. At least one of us should take my advice."

She smirks at me, letting out a deep breath. "Alright, lets get back to business." She declares with determination, and with that we both follow after Clint.

When we get to the room, Scott isn't in the suit like I last saw him, but Clint is. The whole room seems to be having a debate on how time travel works.

"So Back to the Future was bullshit?" I hear Scott ask.

I lean against the doorway, with Nat right behind me. "What do you mean?" I inquire.

Scott looks like he's questioning everything; his eyes are wide and his mouth gapping in shock. "I mean—Mr. Hulk here says that the laws of time travel that are universally known, doesn't apply to real time travel."

I think about my knowledge of time travel at the moment, wondering aloud: "So going into the past and changing an event doesn't change the events of the present?"

Scott shakes his head and throws his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Apparently not."

Bruce looks to me, explaining this like it's common knowledge. "When you go back in time, the past becomes your future, and your former present, becomes the past. So your past can't be changed by your new future."

I stand there and think about that for a moment, so much so that my head starts to hurt. "So if I went into the past and accidentally broke my parents up and came back to the present I would still be alive? What kind of sense does that make?"

Scott points to me and claps his hands together. "Thank you, Soroya, for making my point."

Bruce ignores us, looking to Clint. "You ready for this?" He nods, walking out of the room without a second glance at any of us. He does stop at Nat, and with a small smile, he extends his hand out to her. She takes it, and together they walk hand in hand to the garage.

Tony has just finished up building the time machine.Three sets of stairs lead up to a giant glass platform. Six half rings stick out of the edges, emitting a reddish glow that reflects off of the glass panels layered up towards the ceiling. A few feet away is the machine itself, where Bruce and Tony currently sit at. The rest of us are at a safe distance away. One things for sure; the DeLorean is much cooler.

"All right, Clint," Bruce says, flipping some switches. "We're going in three...two...one."

Bruce flips a switch and the glass panels above Clint glow with the same orange and blue mixture that the van emitted. Clint disappears. Bruce sent him back to about five years ago, so if know if this works it means we can get everyone back. It will no longer be a dream.

Bruce counts back from five, and I watch as the glass panels glow blue and orange once more. Clint reappears, kneeling on all fours screaming: "Lila!"

I have no clue who that is, but Nat seems to, because she looks even more devastated than before. She rushes onto the platform, gently touching his face and looking at him frantically. "Hey. Hey, look at me."

The rest of us rush to his side as well, with one question hanging in the air as we give him a moment to breath, to regain his footing. He nods to Nat, holding onto her for support as he stands.

"You okay?" She asks.

He nods his head, starting at her for a long moment, a mixture of a choke and a laugh coming out of him. He has something in his hands, a baseball glove by the looks of it. He drops it into Natasha's open palm. "It worked," He says, looking to the rest of us in pure shock. "It worked."

He tosses the glove to Tony, who smiles in proud satisfaction. All of us stand there for a moment in pure silence, letting it sink in that we have a chance to win. We have a chance to get everyone back, everyone that was stolen from us.

At this moment I feel absolutely overwhelmed with happiness. I ignore the fears and doubts that still haunt my mind. I turn to Steve, and with tears brimming my eyes, I wrap my arms around his neck. He embraces me tightly, picking me up off the ground and laughing into my shoulder. I knew he must be scared too, because how could he not be? But right now there's only one thing, one person on his mind. I know just how elated both of us are at the prospect of seeing Bucky again.


	42. The Time Heist

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

"Okay, so the 'how' works," Steve begins. All of the screens behind him show the different Infinity Stones. I never realized how different each of them look. It's strange how such seemingly tiny objects were the cause of such destruction. "Now, we gotta figure out the 'when' and the 'where'. Almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."

"Or substitute the word 'encounter' for 'damn near being killed' by one of the six Infinity Stones." Tony remarks, getting a smirk out of me.

Tony is standing on the other side of the screens while the rest of us are sitting at a long table. We each have a cup of coffee, needing to stay awake to plan and pay attention to the topic at hand. Thor, however, is sitting on a couch in the corner, starring off into space.

Scott leans back in his chair, which is right next to mine. "Well, I haven't. And I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about."

I remember feeling that way when Thanos came to Earth, but in the past five years I've been caught up to speed about him and the other stones. I don't think any topic of discussion has ever terrified me more. I remember feeling chills go up and down my spine as Nebula detailed her father's conquests from planet to planet, seeking out these infamous stones. It was just as terrifying hearing Steve detail his encounters with the Tesseract and Rocket talk about the power stone. It makes me wonder why the universe created such powerful ingots of destruction in the first place.

Bruce, who can no longer sit in the chairs, walks to the other side of the room and paces as he says: "Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each. And these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history."

"Our history," Tony adds, walking over towards the rest of us. "So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in, yeah?"

"Which means we have to pick our targets." Clint says sternly, leaning against the glass wall.

"Correct." Tony replies, taking a large gulp of coffee.

"So, lets start with the Aether," Steve continues, looking over into the corner at Thor. "Thor, what do you know?"

We all look over towards him and he is indeed just starring off into the distance; his beer can in hand and his chest silently rising and falling. Maybe he's asleep, but it's hard to tell with the sunglasses on.

"Is he asleep?" Nat asks.

"No, no," Rhodey says. "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

Thor comes out of his beer induced trance after a moment and begrudgingly gets up, squeezing a bottle of eye drops into his one good eye. He clears his throat and begins to give us an interesting explanation about the Reality Stone.

"Uh, where to start, uh..." Thor begins, taking off his sunglasses, using them to point at the screen. "The Aether, firstly, is not a stone. Someone called it a stone before. Um, it's more of an energy sludge sort of thing...so someone's gonna need to amend that and stop saying that."

Steve and I share a look of worry. I truly wish I could help Thor get passed the obvious trauma he's been going through the past few years. Seeing Thor like this breaks my heart.

"Here's an interesting story, though, about the Aether. My grandfather, many years ago had to hide the stone from the dark elves. Scary scary beings. So, Jane, actually...oh there she is..." he trails off, looking at a picture that just popped up on screen of a beautiful young woman. "Yeah, so Jane was an old flame of mine. You know, she stuck her hand inside of a rock this one time and then the Aether stuck itself inside her." Thor explains.

Scott and I share a look of utter confusion. We continue trying to understand Thor's horribly vague and non-descriptive explanation of the stone's history.

"Jane became very, very sick," Thor continues. "So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from, and we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time you see...and I got to introduce her to my mother...who's dead and um...oh, you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore so..."

I move to get up and help him, but as Thor starts to ramble to himself, Tony is the one that steps in, resting his hands gently on Thor's shoulders. "Why don't you come sit down."

"But I'm not done yet. You know the only permanent thing in life is impermanence." Thor says with an ironic chuckle to himself.

Tony claps for him. "Awesome. Want some eggs? Breakfast?"

Thor shakes his head, moving to sit back down. "No, but I'd like a Bloody Mary."

We take a little bit of a break, trying to get Thor to calm down a bit. Over lunch we had Rocket explain the Power Stone to us. Even though I've already heard this explanation before, I still listen intently. I was the one to get take out today and I picked Chinese food. I had never tried it before until I started living here part time. There aren't many Chinese food places in Germany. I hate that I was deprived of egg rolls and dumplings for the first three decades of my life.

"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag."

"Is that a person?" Bruce asks.

Rocket, who is walking on top of the table, shakes his head. "No, Morag's a planet. Quill was a person."

I am sitting in between Rhodey and Nebula, the former being kind enough to hand me some more egg rolls. That childlike wonderment floods Scott's face from across the table. "Like a planet? Like in outer space?"

Rocket pokes fun at his amazement. "Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything," He says sarcastically, petting Scott's head. "Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space puppy? I'll take you to space."

After we eat, the next stone we discuss is the Soul Stone, which Nebula steps up to the board to explain to us. "Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir," She explains solemnly.

"What's Vormir?" Nat asks, jotting down what Nebula says onto some notebook paper.

"A dominion of death at the very center of celestial existence...its where Thanos murdered my sister." She replies.

All of us sit in silence, taking that information in. Scott is the first one to say it, and I couldn't agree more; "Not it."

Towards dinner we go on to discuss the Time Stone, which if it were still around, would make all our lives easier. Tony, Natasha, and Rhodey are all lying on top of the table, with piles of paper and notebooks strewn around. Bruce lies on floor along with Rocket, Thor is most likely asleep on the couch and Nebula is lounging in one of the chairs. Steve, Scott and I are lying on the other side of the table on the floor; with my head resting on Steve's stomach and Scott's head resting on my legs.

"That Time Stone guy—" Nat begins.

"Doctor Strange." Bruce corrects.

"Yeah, what kind of doctor was he?"

"Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit-from-hat." Tony says, pinching the bridge of his nose. All of us are quite exhausted, having barely slept for several days and have been cooped up in this room all day planning this Time Heist.

"Nice place in the village, though." Bruce comments.

"Yeah, on Sullivan Street?"

"It makes you wonder where all these people get their abilities from. It's like their given out like prizes at the fair these days." I say aloud, rubbing at my eyes.

I feel Steve's stomach rise and fall as he sighs. "Well the more the merrier...even if they do have ridiculous names."

"Don't get too cocky, Star Spangled Man." I mutter, making Steve annoyingly roll his eyes.

"Wait," Nat interrupts. "He lived in New York?"

"No, in Toronto." Tony remarks. "Haven't you been listening?"

"Uh, Yeah. On Bleecker and Sullivan." Bruce answers her.

"Guys, If you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York." Nat says, and that gets everyone's attention.

Bruce sits bolt right up. "Shut the front door." He exclaims.

Scott mutters. "Well that's convenient."

That night we devise our plan; Clint and Natasha will travel to 2014 along with Rhodey and Nebula. Clint and Nat will take Rocket's ship to Vormir to get the Soul Stone, while Nebula and Rhodey go to Morag for the Power Stone. Thor and Rocket will go to 2013 Asgard to get the Reality Stone. Steve, Tony, Scott, Bruce, and I will go to 2012 New York. Tony, Steve, and Scott will be in charge of getting the Mind and Space Stones, while Bruce and I get the Time Stone.

As I listened to everyone discuss the different stones, Tony and Bruce both talked about the people looking after the Time Stone. They said they aren't hard people to reason with, especially when discussing something as big as this mission. Tony and Bruce both assured me that our part of the mission will be the easiest out of all of them.

This got me thinking. I want to go on this heist, but it really seems like I'm not truly needed to get the stones back. I know I can't just sit here and wait, but I don't necessarily have to tag along either.

My fears and doubts about this working have been prominent in my mind since Scott first arrived. As the day of our Time Heist grows closer and closer, those doubts and fears grow stronger and stronger.

If this doesn't work, I'll truly never see Alex and Bucky again. In case it doesn't, I could take this opportunity to see them one last time.

Well, I can't see both of them. If I show up five years ago, both of them will think I'm some kind of monster or alien creature. They wouldn't believe I was a time traveler. I know I won't believe it when past me sees future me. They'll never believe it's really me. I won't get more than a few words in before they shoot me. I can't go back in time to see Alex and my parents when we're younger either, because they wouldn't believe I was their daughter. I wouldn't get within a foot of them.

If I use this opportunity to go back in time to see Bucky, it could work. I couldn't go to a time when he was the Winter Soldier, or even when we were on the run together. I keep thinking hard about any time I could possibly see him. Then I remember the Smithsonian, and the newspaper article about the Stark Expo in 1942. The place where Steve was recruited to become Captain America, where Bucky spent his last day as a free and happy man...

My mind begins racing. I feel ecstatic at the thought of seeing him again, even if it's a different version of him. Steve said they had dates at the expo, and all I would have to do is make sure I'm at the right place at the right time when Bucky finds those dates. Then I would get to go to the expo with him and spend that night with him. I remember the date for the expo was May 21st, 1942. I also remember seeing a picture of Bucky and the two girls in that box Olivia's son gave me. All I need to know is when and where Bucky got the two girls for dates.

Late at night after everyone has gone to bed, I find Steve still starring at the screens, a glazed look in his eyes.

"Trouble sleeping?" I ask him from the doorway.

He glances up at me and nods. "Just thinking about tomorrow."

I nod, moving over towards the chair opposite his, sitting down and leaning my elbows on the table. "You know what I was doing? I was looking through the box of Bucky's things and I found the picture taken on the day before he left for the war. You know what I noticed?"

"Hm?"

"One of the dates looks a lot like me. She has the same pointed nose, same brown hair, and she's about my height. It was quite strange. All I could think about is what she was like, what she was doing that caught Bucky's attention. I wonder if she was at a diner and simply smiled at him or if she was at the movies and happened to pass by him and wink," I say, smiling sadly as I stare at the table, before glancing up at Steve. "Do you know the answer?"

Steve glances up at the ceiling and thinks for a moment, before looking back at me. "Buck and I were going to see a movie right after lunch. He told me he met those girls at Hal's Diner back in Brooklyn, right before he went to meet me at the theater. We never saw the movie though. I got beat up in the alleyway outside...Bucky rescued me."

I smile solemnly at Steve. "Is Hal's still in business?"

Steve shakes his head, chuckling softly. "With the amount of health code violations it had, I doubt it."

I let out a chuckle as well, shaking my head. "She must have done something right. I know he wouldn't just pick any girl."

Steve nods in agreement. "As much of a ladies man he was, he didn't ask just any girl out. I think the brunettes name was Connie? She was nice. I remember she had a beautiful smile."

Steve almost seems to get lost in that memory. I can picture the night clearly in my mind. Pretty soon I won't have to just imagine it. Despite my excitement, I can't help but feel a slight bit of worry.

"Steve?" I ask hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you...do you think if I was at that diner back then and Bucky saw me, do you think he would have picked me?"

Steve stares at me for a long moment, in his eyes I can tell he has figured out my plan. He doesn't look angry or annoyed, he looks almost happy. He nods his head slowly, and even as he answers my question, his tone is one that sounds like he's in on a secret. In this case it's my secret. "In any place or in any time, I know Bucky would pick you."

I smile at him, thankful not only for him assuring me that, but also for not thinking me cowardly or self centered for doing this for myself. "Thank you," I tell him, pushing myself out of the chair. "I'm going to get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow."

Steve nods, watching me silently as I walk out the door. And just before I make my way around the corner, I glance back at him. I swear a hint of a smile is crossing his lips. I shut my bedroom door behind me, my body feeling the exhaustion of the last few days, and Steve's words still echoing in my mind.


	43. May 21st, 1942

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Sitting on my bed at the Avengers compound, I tap on my Kimoyo Bead bracelet, waiting as Khari's face appears from my wrist.

"Is everything alright? I got worried when I never heard back from you on your birthday."

I nod my head slowly, asking him: "Do you know where Okoye is? She needs to hear what I have to say too."

Khari nods. "You're in luck, we were just in a meeting."

I see Khari turn, gesturing with a nod of his head. Seconds later Okoye appears beside him. "What is it?" She asks, sounding slightly concerned.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys this earlier, but a man named Scott Lang came to us talking about the Quantum Realm. It's a micro universe where time works differently. He had been stuck in it for five years, but it only felt like hours to him. We approached Tony Stark about it and we now have a way to time travel. We can go back in time and get the Infinity Stones. We can bring everyone back."

Okoye and Khari stare at me for a long moment, a million different emotions flooding both of their features. I can see tears brimming both of their eyes. Khari is the first one to speak; "Are...are you sure? You...you can bring Alex back?"

I nod to him. "Yes, yes we can."

"When are you going? What's the plan...I mean how does it—" Khari begins to ramble.

"We are leaving first thing in the morning to go get the stones back. We are hoping by today that we can snap our fingers and reverse what Thanos did. I just wanted to let you know that this is happening—"

"We will prepare for any outcome. I will be sure to let M'Baku and the queen mother know that the king and princess might return," Okoye says, putting on a brave face. "Stay safe, Soroya. We...we couldn't lose you too."

I nod, looking between my best friends. "I promise I will. Hopefully all of us will be together soon."

Khari rubs at his eyes, biting his quivering lip. "All we can do is hope. For now that's enough."

With that, their faces fade away and my Kimoyo Beads turn off. I take the beads off my wrist and place it on my bedside table, starring at the picture I have there; Mama, Papa, Alex, and me on my twelfth birthday. My last birthday with all of us together. I touch each of their faces gently, lingering a little longer on Alex's. I keep thinking of the hope and I just put into Khari, hoping myself that it won't be for nothing. I grip onto Bucky's dog tags tightly, letting out a deep sigh, a small bit of happiness seeping into the worry. I know that no matter how this mission goes tomorrow, that I will get to see him, even if it may be the last time.

-

"Alright. We have a plan," Steve says firmly. It's early in the morning and all of us are sitting in the common area. I look at the stones showcased on the screens in front of us, with the plan laid out under the word; Time Heist. "Six stones, three teams, one shot."

Steve walks away from the screens and looks around the room at each of us; his team, his family, his Avengers. All eleven of us walk into the room holding our suits; which are a lot like Scott's regular suit, but has mixes of white and grey amongst the red. It showcases the Avengers insignia on it. I smile at the suit as I slip it on, making sure my golden wing necklace is firmly clasped around my neck. I activate it so my suit is under this one.

Once we are all dressed, we walk in a group towards the time machine, a look of determination on each of our faces. Not one of us looks afraid, not even me. We walk up the steps onto the platform where we gather in a circle, with Steve giving us one of his speeches before we execute the plan.

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends, we lost family, we lost a part of ourselves. Today we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones. Get them back. One round trip each; no mistakes...no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, but that doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives...and we're gonna win." Steve says, placing his fist in the middle of our circle. Each of us places one in also. In this moment, more so than any point in the past five years, I feel like a true Avenger.

"Whatever it takes," Steve finishes, sharing a hopeful and almost fearful look with Tony. "Good luck."

"He's pretty good at that." Rocket mutters.

Scott nods. "Right?"

"All right, you heard the man," Tony says clapping his hands. "Stroke those keys, Jolly Green."

Each of us walks to the edge of the platform, standing a foot or two away from each other. I stand in between Clint and Rhodey, and across from me is Steve, who gives me a knowing nod. I smile shyly at him, winking at Nat who winks hopefully back.

The machine activates, so I press the button on my suit to put my helmet on. I find it is slightly tight. The panels above us swirl in orange and blue, just like it did in Scott's brown van. I feel frightened as I really let it sink in for the first time that I'm about to shrink to microscopic levels and travel to 1942. But there isn't going back now, especially since I already punched in the exact time and date in my suit. I ball my shaking hands into fists, taking a deep breath as the platform glows brightly, all of us getting sucked inside.

What I see for the next several seconds is unlike anything I've ever seen. Different shades of blue shapes I can't describe fly past me, almost resembling tunnels. I can physically feel myself getting smaller. I wonder if this is how Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit hole, sinking into a never ending abyss she couldn't describe. It almost feels like I'm swimming with no control of where my body is taking me. It's unlike anything I have ever experienced, unlike anything I've ever seen. I watch as the rest of the team goes off into another path, with my body propelling to another blue tunnel. The blue around me turns into a bright orange light before I'm face down in what looks like grass.

I touch the ground, pressing the button to make my helmet go away, relived to find I'm indeed touching grass. I'm definitely still on earth and I'm definitely alive. So that's a plus.

I quickly press the button to make my suit vanish, realizing that I am wearing my shifting suit. Now that was the idea of course, but this isn't exactly a fashion staple of the 40's. I can't go to the Stark Expo wearing, what looks to others, like a teal blue onesie.

I push myself off the ground, finding that I'm in the middle of a small park. First things first, I need to steal some clothes. I begin to walk down the street, already getting several glares from men and women alike. If I'm being honest though, it's the last thing that's on my mind right now.

The women are wearing stockings, skirts, and pearls. The men are wearing suits everywhere I look. The cars are old fashioned, there are people actually talking with each other and not on their phones. I pass by a restaurant and hear 'A String of Pearls' by Glenn Miller, which I think came out this year.

Oh my god Fred Astaire is alive right now! I think for a second about what movies of his came out in 42. I feel a smile go over my face as I realize 'The Holiday Inn' came out in August of 1942. He is probably in California filming it right now. Just being alive when he was is already the highlight of this trip and I've been here for five minutes.

I then remember why I came here. I realize that at this very moment, Bucky is alive. He's breathing, he's walking around, he's really alive. Any thought of Fred Astaire leaves my mind.

I spot a clothing store a few stores down. Hastily, I go around the back of the buildings, trying to draw less attention to myself. I find that the door to the store is unlocked. I remember times were much different back in this time; robbers weren't something people worried about as often. I am relived to find the back of the store is empty. This store is set up like modern clothing stores, having all the inventory in the back. I quickly find a small pink dress, a pair of lace gloves, a olive green cardigan, and a pair of skin colored heels. I deactivate my suit and it becomes a normal necklace again. As swiftly as I can, I slip on the outfit I have picked out, ripping off the tags. There's a mirror back here, and as I look into it, I smile softly at myself. I feel like I'm a little girl again dressing up like Ginger Rogers or Audrey Hepburn.

I'm grateful I've kept my hair short so it won't stick out in today's fashion. Before I leave, I see that the woman who owns the store has left her purse in this back room, with some money in one of the side pockets. I feel extreme guilt at having to do this, but I'll need it for a taxi. So, I steal it and curse myself for it as I slip out of the back door. I hope the shop owner gets a lot of customers this week. I tell myself this as I make my way back onto the streets of New York.

I can't help but feel a burst of confidence flow through me and a bit of giddiness thrown in there too. I can't believe I'm actually here. I've dreamt my whole life of living in the 40's for a day. I finally get to do so.

I lift my hand up in the air and shout for a taxi, which appears at my side within moments. This is shocking, but I remember not as many people live in New York in this time. I slip into the back seat, smiling at the man, using an American accent as I ask: "Can you take me to Hal's Diner in Brooklyn?"

The kind older gentlemen smiles with a nod. "Sure, doll. You gotta date?"

I lean back in the seat, smiling to myself. "I guess you could say that."

-

It's almost noon right now and Steve told me Bucky came to this diner for lunch before meeting him at the theater for a movie. The movie was at three, so he should be here within the next few hours. I paid the kind man for the ride, which was ridiculously cheap. Inflation is ridiculous. I ended up paying him extra because I felt bad.

I walk inside the diner, finding that it's exactly like the diner in Back to the Future; when Marty McFly travels back to the 50's. How ironic that is given I've time traveled here. The tile is black and white, with a red striped wallpaper attached to the walls. One whole wall is a window, which is lined with booths filled with couples of all ages eating and talking. On the other side of the diner are red metal seats and white painted tables. Right in front of the kitchen is the bar, where instead of alcohol, milkshakes and Soda's are served.

I walk up to the bar, sitting on one of the red cushioned stools. I glance up at the neon glowing sign that says 'Hal's' and smile to myself, still trying to accept I'm in the 40's.

A waitress approaches me, not looking particularly pleased to be here. "What will you have?"

"What soda's do you have?"

"We have the normal Root Beer, Cream Soda, and Cola. Would you like to try Dr. Pepper? It's brand new."

Dr. Pepper is new. I chuckle to myself and this gets me a confused look from the waitress. I nod, once again faking my accent as I reply; "A Dr. Pepper would be lovely."

I definitely have to use an American accent the entire time I'm here. A German in New York City in the midst of WWII will not be smiled upon. I'll probably be put in jail and convicted as a spy.

There is a juke box in the corner and the song that comes on has me humming to myself; it's 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' by The Andrew Sisters.

I hear someone a few seats down from me singing along to the song also. I stare at the women for a few moments before I recognize her. She's one of the dates Bucky took to the Expo. I lean forward and see the other date next to her. They two of them are drinking vanilla milkshakes and singing softly to the song.

I know I'm definitely in the right place. I stare at their hair for a moment and realize it's being held back by pins. Every girl in this time has their hair pinned up and I don't have any on me. The waitress returns with my Dr. Pepper, and I thank her for it, but before she leaves I ask: "Do you happen to have any extra hair pins on you? I just saw that my former fiancé is here and I want to remind him of what he's missing."

Without a moment's hesitation the woman hands me two pins, genuinely giving me an encouraging look. "Make him suffer, honey." Is what she says, before moving onto the next customer.

I hold the pins in one hand, gripping my bottle of Dr. Pepper tightly in the other. As I walk towards the restroom I 'trip' on the stool in front of me and 'accidentally' spill the contents of my soda on both of Bucky's original dates. They both stare at me in disgust, huffing at me in anger.

"Oh my goodness. I do apologize." I tell them, trying to act sincere. They don't seem to accept my apologies, running into the restroom to clean themselves up. One of them left a hand mirror on the counter, so I use this to put my hair clips in. I think I look pretty good, but I hope I pass for a woman in the 40's.

I set the mirror back down, thankful that the two girls haven't returned. The waitress was kind enough to get me another Dr. Pepper.

I wait there silently for some time. I glance at the clock on the wall, seeing that it's now one o'clock in the afternoon. I absentmindedly touch my wing necklace, missing Bucky's dog tags. I have worn them everyday since I got them, but I can't risk Bucky seeing them here. Explaining why I have dog tags with his name on them would be impossible.

I hear the bell ring, indicating someone has entered the diner. A familiar scent fills my nose, making my heartbeat increase. As I turn my head towards the door, I see him. My heart stops in my chest and my breath gets sucked from my lungs like a vacuum. Over twenty years of training my self control is the only thing keeping me from bursting into tears and rushing over to him. I have to remember that he doesn't remember who I am. He has no clue who I was to him, or will be to him. I finally understand how Steve felt when he saw Bucky again, and had to witness the person he loved most not have any clue who he was.

Bucky looks different, very different. He looks ten years younger than when I saw him last. I remember him saying he was twenty five when he was drafted. He's wearing a soldier's uniform; a long brown jacket with golden buttons, a dark yellow tie, high waisted belt, matching pants that look freshly ironed, and shiny black shoes.

His hair is short, gelled back under his military cap. I'm so used to seeing him with long hair it's quite strange seeing it like this. He also is clean shaven, which I've only seen in pictures. He walks through the door, walking to the counter I'm currently at, sitting down on the stool next to mine. Being this close to him, actually seeing him in the flesh again, reminds me of how handsome he really is. Any woman would have to be blind not to melt just at the sight of him. I just about do as he let's out a sigh and his arm lightly brushes mine.

"Hello there, ma'am," He says to the waitress with a grin. "Could you get me a Cola and your special for today please?"

The waitress smiles slightly at him. "Coming right up."

He winks. "You're the best. Thank you, doll."

I shake my head to myself; Steve was right, he is such a flirt. I don't think I've ever seen Bucky wink. He carries himself with such confidence and charm. He has the same air to him that Carry Grant or Rock Hudson has in their movies; a gentlemen who's handsome and knows it. He isn't arrogant though, like Steve said. But his charisma and looks alone could have made him a star in Hollywood.

As he waits for his food to arrive, I feel his eyes fall onto me. I focus really hard on the long sip of Dr. Pepper I am taking.

"That is a beautiful necklace you have there," Bucky says to me. "Are they bird wings?"

I face him and smile. "Yes, it was a gift from a friend. I'm glad you like it."

He smiles. "Well, its a beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl," he says, extending his hand out to me. "My name is Sergeant James Barnes, my friends call me Bucky though."

"Is that what we are? Friends?" I ask, remembering when we were in the Pretrov's house in Siberia and I asked him the same question. It feels like millennia ago...

"I would like us to be. What's your name?"

I hesitate for a moment, before placing my hand in his. "Lena. Lena Roberts." I tell him.

He leans his head down and kisses my knuckles. I feel like an electric shock has gone up my arm and all the way to my heated cheeks. Bucky notices, smirking at me.

"Are you doing anything tonight, Lena?"

I shake my head.

"The Stark Expo is tonight and I am going with my best friend Steve...would you like to join us?"

I feel my heart flutter, nodding enthusiastically. "I would love that. How about I meet you here, tonight at eight?"

Bucky nods, just as the waitress drops his food in front of him. He places his napkin over his lap and brings his bottle of Cola into the air. "To new friends." He toasts.

I clink my bottle against his. "To new friends." I repeat. As we drink to our toast, I feel rather bitter sweet; feeling elated at seeing Bucky again, but knowing that our time is running short. These could be the last smiles of his I see, the last touches. But I refuse to think of that now. Bucky is here, Bucky is alive, and that's all that matters.


	44. The Way You Look Tonight

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I spent an hour and a half sitting with Bucky while he ate. I ended up ordering lunch too; which consisted of a turkey sandwich and a small salad. He told me about his life. A lot of it I did know; his job at his father's store, his siblings, his athletics. I smiled as he talked fondly of his baby sister Olivia. My heart then sunk as I remember I went to her funeral only two weeks ago.

He talked about Steve as well. If I had truly just met Bucky, I would have thought he was talking about one of his brothers. He talks about how he is always getting himself into trouble, but it's his kind heart that makes others want to take advantage of him and pick on him. I can tell this makes him angry. It makes me angry too. But jokes on all of those bullies; their children and grandchildren will learn about Steve in history class one day.

The love Bucky has for Steve is written all over his face as he talks about him, just like it was back in our time. After the snap, Steve and I formed a bond that the others couldn't understand. Bucky is the person Steve and I loved the most. I know that if it had been Steve that vanished and not Bucky, that the devastation would have been the same.

Before he left, he politely asked the waitress if she wanted to come as Steve's date. She shockingly said yes. Bucky kissed my hand one more time before exiting the diner. As soon as he did so, the waitress turned to me.

"Is that the guy who broke your heart?"

I shake my head. "No..no he's someone new." I say with a smile.

She nods her head, taking our plates away and returning moments later with a small mirror and a red lipstick. She applies the lip stick as she asks: "You got anything to wear?"

I look down at my outfit and gesture to it. She closes her hand mirror and shakes her head at me. "If this is your first man after a heartbreak, you need to dress up a bit more," she points to the back room, gesturing for me to follow her towards it. "I have a cute outfit that will fit you, though I'm shocked anything does given your height. I live above the diner since my father owns the place."

She pushes through the back door, which of course leads to the kitchen. Over in the corner are stairs leading up to another floor. As we ascend them, I see that the floor contains a living room, a bathroom, and two doors leading to what I assume are two bedrooms. She opens up the door on the right side of the room which is no doubt hers; with the bright blue and yellow blankets and pillows, the endless records stacked on the floor, and the dresser lined with makeup and different dresses.

She gestures to the never ending supply of outfits and makeup, smiling. "Take your pick of lipstick and blush, but that outfit on the hanger on my closet door is perfect for you. My dad got it a couple sizes too small. Never ask a man to buy you clothes, they're clueless."

I go over to her closet, picking up the outfit she referred to, smiling down at it; it's a light pink almost tan long skirt, with a matching belt and blouse, a beautiful white sweater with flowers knitted into it, and a pink purse to match.

I turn back to her, clutching the outfit to my chest. "I'm so grateful...I'm Lena. What's your name?"

She smiles at me as well, ushering me towards her dresser. "I'm Ruth," she says, picking up what looks like an old fashioned curling iron. "Here, I'll help you with your hair."

I nod to her and sit down on the bed, feeling for a moment like a normal woman getting ready for a date. I have to admit, it feels really nice.

-

Bucky rushed to the diner a little before eight, telling us Steve had gotten beaten up and needed some more time to get ready. He told us to meet him there. So, Ruth and I took a taxi to the Stark Expo and waited between a pair of statues, right in front of the event.

Even back in this time the Stark's have a large ego. You would think it's Independence Day; with the fireworks, the amount of people, and the spotlights shining into the air like we're on Broadway. I could see where Tony gets his flare for the dramatic from.

About twenty minutes later, I spot Bucky and a small gentlemen approaching us. Bucky waves and I watch Ruth wave back, whispering to me; "Of course my date is short. Figures."

The two men approach us, and Bucky looks me up and down, grinning widely. "You look absolutely beautiful, ma'am."

I blush, feeling weird that he just called me 'ma'am'. I look him up and down to, noticing he's still in his military uniform. For some reason he looks even more handsome than he did twenty minutes ago. I say; "None of that, call me Lena. This must be Steve?"

I, of course, know that Steve used to be small like this. I've seen pictures, but it's strange seeing him so small in real life. Not only his stature, but like Bucky, this Steve acts totally different from the one I know. The friend I know is a true leader, has confidence in everything he does and says, and has a wisdom to him that comes from being alive for so long. This Steve holds out his hand to me hesitantly, takes it back, and then holds it out again, stuttering; "Steve, yes, I'm...I'm Steve Rogers."

I smile at him, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. I remember he told me no woman ever gave him a second glance because Bucky outshined him. I am going to make it my duty tonight to be the first girl to pay attention to the brilliant man he is.

Ruth smiles half heartedly at both men. "I'm Ruth Danes. Shall we go?" She says, clearly impatient and ready for see the Expo.

Bucky smiles at me differently. I think it's because of the kindness I just showed Steve. He slips his hand into mine, brushing his thumb over my knuckles as we walk into the Stark Expo.

There are exhibits all around, with glass cases holding different weapons and technology in various stages of development on display. There is a voice over a loud speaker announcing some of the different things being showcased. In a glass case I see a developmental suit made for combat. All I can think of is Tony's suit and how his father almost made something similar. But at least Tony's suit looks cool, the one his father made looks ridiculous.

Steve walks a few feet behind us and Ruth a few feet next to us. I try to keep both of them in the conversation, but Ruth seems too uninterested and Steve looks too uncomfortable. I try not to spend all of my time on them though, sneaking as many glances and mundane conversations in with Bucky as possible.

A huge stage is in the center of the Expo and music comes over the loud speaker and lights shine across the whole expo. I look over towards the stage and see Howard Stark make his way out. I lean towards Bucky, genuinely feeling excited as I tell him it's starting. Squeezing his hand tightly and grabbing onto Steve's hand, I whisk us towards the front of the crowd. Ruth looks excited to see this and claps along with the rest of us as Howard Stark walks towards the microphone. There are show girls dancing onstage and I watch as Howard kisses one of them deeply wiping her lipstick away, taking the microphone out of her hands.

Howard looks a lot like Tony. He also has the same charisma and confidence his son has. These comparisons make an unpleasant realization cross my mind. I'm standing in the presence of Howard Stark and the man who murders him. I know this will forever haunt Bucky. I hate that right now, everything is so peaceful, and tomorrow it will all be ripped away from him.

I try not to think of this though. I smile through the pain, focusing on the expo.

"What if I told you in a few short years," Howard Stark begins. "Your automobiles...won't even have to touch the ground at all." The show girls take the tires off of a beautiful cherry red car parked in the center of the stage, making sure to grin and wave at the crowd as they do so.

"With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology, you'll be able to do just that," Stark says, pulling a lever on the control panel in front of him. I watch in awe as the car levitates off the ground. Bucky mutters to himself in amazement also. I wonder why in my time they don't have flying cars if Stark was doing this back in the 40's. I get my answer very quickly though, because the car begins to spark and within seconds it crashes to the ground. Stark waves off the failed attempt. "I did say a few years didn't I?"

Everyone begins to clap, and I see Bucky turn to tell Steve something, but Steve is nowhere in sight. Bucky turns to me, concern on his face. "Did you see where he went?"

No, but I know exactly where he is. "I saw him go towards the enlistment office I think." I tell him, and Bucky lets out a small sigh, grabbing onto my hand again.

He leads me towards the enlistment office, and Ruth begrudgingly follows. The office itself is a small building with the words; "United States Armed Forces Recuritment" in bold letters plastered above the entrance. The entire building is open, facing the expo, and even from here I can see Steve's small figure wondering around. American flags cover the pillars holding up the building. I see a little boy saluting to the flags as he walks by. I've never gotten used to the level of patriotism Americans have.

Bucky lets go of my hand and turns to me. "You stay here. After this I promise I'll take you both dancing. That alright?"

There is a god afterall. I nod to him enthusiastically, feeling beyond happy that shortly, I will be dancing in the 40's with Bucky. It couldn't get more perfect than that.

Steve and Bucky quickly get into an argument. With my advanced hearing I can hear the conversation that ensues. Bucky is trying to convince Steve not to join the army. These attempts are futile, and Bucky knows that just as well as I do. I watch Bucky back up, shaking his head. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

Steve scoffs. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

Bucky lets out a laugh and walks back up to Steve, hugging him tightly. Just before Bucky reaches us again, Steve shouts: "Don't win the war till I get there." Bucky salutes to his best friend, shaking his head again.

"Come on girls, they're playing our song." He says, ushering us towards the exit of the Expo. I glance back towards Steve, watching him slip into one of the recruitment booths. I smile, knowing everything will turn out okay for him.

Before we get in the taxi, Ruth looks between the two of us before looking at the watch on her wrist. "It's getting late...I'm gonna head home."

"You need a ride? Money for a cab?" Bucky offers.

She shakes her head. "Nope, I'll be fine," she says reassuringly. As Bucky gets in, she grabs onto my arm, dropping her voice. "You're welcome. You can go ahead and keep the outfit."

I nod to her. "Thank you, for everything."

She winks at me before walking away. I slip into the taxi next to Bucky. I feel my heart beat rapidly against my ribs, so much so I'm shocked it can't be heard by Bucky and the taxi driver. I enjoy this feeling though, appreciating it while I have it.

-

Bucky has taken me to a dance club. It's filled with couples, mostly young men in uniform with beautifully dressed young women. They're all dancing like it's the last night of their lives. In this case, for some of them, it very well might be.

Bucky grips my hand tightly, whisking me onto the dance floor with a large smile on his face. 'Sing, Sing, Sing' by Benny Goodman is being played by the band in the corner. I let out a genuine laugh, remembering dancing to this song with my parents in my living room back home. And now I'm here, when this song is not even ten years old.

Bucky twirls me around twice, pulling me into his arms and then spinning me again. I took tap dancing lessons for most of my life, but my mother taught me swing dancing herself. Her lessons have finally paid off, because I don't look like a complete idiot on this dance floor.

Bucky grabs onto both of my hands and we spin around in a circle, continuing to do what my mother referred to as the 'classic swing move'; which is interchanging your right and left foot forward and simultaneously shaking your hips and shoulders. I then take a step back with him, then two steps to the side. As we spin around his hand holds the small of my back, his face very close to mine. The urge to kiss him is unbearable. It takes all my effort not to, chanting in my head he has no clue who I am.

The song ends and I look over to the band, seeing they are taking a break. But the club owner pulls out a record player and the song that plays next is slow. I almost let out a squeal as I realize who sings the song playing; it's Fred Astaire, singing 'The Way You Look Tonight'.

Bucky grips my hand tightly and brings me closer to him, so there's less than a few inches between us. He brings his hand to my lower back again and I feel my breath hitch. I place my other hand on his shoulder and together we begin to box step to the music.

"It's very strange," Bucky murmurs to me. "I feel like I know you from somewhere but I can't place where."

I shrug, feeling the irony in that statement. "Maybe I just have one of those faces."

Bucky shakes his head. "That's absolutely not it. I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you. If I saw your face before today, I would remember it."

I swallow hard, feeling my cheeks heat up. I smile weakly. "You must say that to all the girls."

Bucky spins me around again and unexpectedly dips me. He does this with such ease and grace, I stand by my statement earlier he could have been the new Rock Hudson. "No," he tells me softly, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I've never told that to anyone before. I'm surprised a girl like you isn't taken already."

He brings me back up, and we continue our box step. As we do so, I feel my self control slowly start to break. "I was...but he was taken from me...by the war." I say, which isn't a complete lie.

Bucky shakes his head. "This war has taken too many good men. I am so sorry. He was damn lucky though, if he got to call you his."

I smile sadly at him. I feel a strong urge to avoid his gaze, but I know I couldn't look away from his steel blue eyes even if I wanted to. "We never got to truly be together though...I never even told him I loved him."

"Why not?"

"I was afraid he would push me away...he didn't want me to be attached to a soldier. He was trying to protect me. I regret not telling him more than anything now though..."

I feel him gently rub my back. The act is the most comforting thing I've felt in a long time. "It's like my mother always says; 'you shouldn't let fear of getting hurt keep you from being happy'."

I feel tears brim my eyes as I smile widely at him. "She sounds like a very wise woman."

Hearing words I have preached for years come out of Bucky's mouth, makes me feel like I've woken up from a trance. I haven't been living by that statement at all the last few years. I have closed off my heart from moving on out of fear of being hurt, and that isn't what I should have been doing.

Now, being here, being in Bucky's arms, drives home even more, that my heart will always belong to Bucky. But not this Bucky. This Bucky isn't the man I fell in love with. My heart will always belong to the broken man, the man I'm dancing with will become, and that will never change. But even if I never went on another date again, I could have tried to move on and let him go. Not just Bucky, but Alex, T'Challa, Shuri and everyone else who perished.

Win or lose today, I make a promise to myself now that I won't be miserable anymore. I promise myself that whether we get everyone back or not, that I will be happy. I look around and see all these people dancing and laughing together, not thinking about what could happen tomorrow or what's already happened. They're living their lives to the fullest. That's how it should be and that's how it's gonna be from now on.

I pull Bucky close to me, so my head is resting on his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling his arms tighten around my waist after a moment. I hold him tightly, knowing this could be the last time I could be able to do so. If it is, I will forever cherish this moment with him.

"I wish I could tell him," I whisper to him. "I wish I could tell him...that my heart will always belong to him. That if I could go through all the pain we endured for all those years and still meet him, I would. He was worth all of this, even though he thought he wasn't."

"I'm sure he knows how much you cared for him." Bucky assures me, his voice soft and tender.

I pull back from him. I don't wipe away the tears that slip down my cheeks. "He does now," I tell him, leaning up on my toes and kissing him gently on the mouth. He is shocked by this kiss, but does kiss me back before I pull away from him, touching his face gently. "Thank you for my dance."

I let go of him and make my way towards the exit of the club. He watches me as I walk away from him, his face filled with confusion and a sort of elatedness. I wave at him before I push through the door though. I see him wave back, still trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

My heart is full of more hope than ever that Bucky, my Bucky will be returned to me. But even if he isn't, I would be okay. Alex told me once, after he started dating Khari, that if he got his heart broken that it would be worth it to have had Khari in his life for even a little while.

All that pain; my parents, Alex, Bucky, my friends. All that pain was worth it because I was loved, truly loved by each and every one of them. I would carry that love around with me everyday, whether or not they come back. With a newfound sense of determination, I walk out of the club and head towards the back alley between it and a pub. I bring the time navigator out of my purse and attach it back to my hand, activating the suit.

I take a deep breath and look around 1942 one last time, smiling to myself as I press the button on my suit, shrinking me down to microscopic levels. I once again see the swirls and shapes of blue and orange, feeling like I'm moving through water at rapid speeds.

I see a flash of bright light and then I'm starring at the glass platform. I glance up and seeing the panels retract and the bright glow slowly fading.

I look around, noticing that there are six Infinity Stones present, making me let out a sigh of relief, feeling overwhelming happiness. That happiness is crushed however, because I notice something else too; we are missing Natasha.


	45. Bring Them Back

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Clint sinks down to his knees with a hard thud, a look of pure heartbreak in his eyes.

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asks, looking very confused.

I stare at Clint and see him not be able to form words to tell us what he wants to, but he doesn't have to. I glance over to Steve, seeing tears brimmed in his eyes, sharing a knowing look.

Feeling the tears spill down my face, I try to stifle my crying by pressing my palm over my mouth, but the sob comes through anyways. The sound is drowned by Bruce falling to his knees and pounding his fist into the floor.

Rhodey tries to stifle his own sorrow as well, gesturing for Scott, Nebula, and Rocket to give the rest of us some space, no doubt wanting to mourn our friend alone.

We all take our time travel suits off, placing them back in the supply room and we make our way out to the small dock near the lake. Tony, Bruce, Steve, Clint, and I stand there in silence for a moment or two, before Tony asks:

"Do we know if she had family?"

Steve nods, a tear slipping down his cheek. "Yeah...us."

I wipe my nose on my sleeve, wrapping my arms around my chest and leaning my head against Steve's shoulder. He and I are sitting on one of the benches resting on the dock. He leans his head against mine, sniffling silently to himself.

"What?" Thor asks incredulously. "You're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones...Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right? So, stop this shit. We are the Avengers. Get it together."

Clint shakes his head. "We can't get her back...it can't be undone. It can't."

Thor laughs this off, looking at us all like we're idiots. "Look, I'm sorry, no offense but you're a very earthly being, okay? We're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive don't you think?"

"Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here is she? It can't be undone. Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you want to go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and talk to him!" Clint shouts, the tears cascading down his cheeks.

The rest of us are silent for a moment, but Clint shakes his head, his voice is thick as he says; "It was supposed to be me."

I turn to him, shaking my head. "Don't say that. Your family needs you. She wanted you to be happy."

Clint looks over to me, nodding his head solemnly. "I know...but she deserved to be happy too. She deserves better than this. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Bruce throws one of the benches in a fit of rage. I watch as the bench flies to the other side of the lake. "She's not coming back," He mutters. "We have to make this worth it. We have to."

Steve stands, anger and determination written on his face. "We will."

We make our way back to the compound, and as we do so, Steve slows his pace next to me so we are a few feet behind everyone else.

"I'm sorry I didn't come with you...it was selfish and I know it was wrong. I just...I wanted to see him one last time."

Steve shakes his head. "I don't think you're selfish. Bruce didn't have any problems, so you wouldn't have had anything to do anyways. How...how was it?"

I smile to myself, knowing that I will never and could never forget the day I just spent. "It was amazing. I've always wanted to go to the 40's for a day...and it was even better that he was there."

Steve smiles at me. "Did you see me as well?"

I nod, feeling a teasing smile wash over my face. "I did, yes. It was very interesting seeing you like that. It was also interesting seeing Bucky back then. You were right, he was totally different. He acted like he was the Brooklyn version of Rock Hudson."

Steve lets out a chuckle. "He sure did," he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly. "We're gonna see him again."

I wrap my arm around his waist, nodding my head. "Lets get our Bucky back."

-

Tony, with the help of his genius mind and robotic helpers, was able to make a gauntlet to hold the Infinity Stones. Just like the one Thanos had. While we waited for Tony to assemble all of the stones together, Steve told me of their mission in 2012.

He apparently fought his past self and almost lost but told his past self Bucky was alive. It distracted him long enough to escape his clutches. I feel bad for that alternate Steve, he is probably very confused. He also told me they lost the Space Stone and had to travel to the 70's to find it again.

Steve said he saw Peggy again. I saw the look in his eyes as he talked about her. I pulled him in for a hug, which I think he really needed. It appears I wasn't the only one seeing a lost love in another time.

We also all got into our suits, because who knows what could happen when it comes to the stones. I change out of my 40's outfit and put on some leggings and a white long sleeve shirt that says; 'Eliza? Where the devil are my slippers', from 'My Fair Lady'. I activate my suit on over the new clothes, placing Bucky's dog tags around my neck again, feeling better having them back with me again.

Tony, Rocket, and Bruce come back into the common area with the gauntlet. They gently set it down and Rocket looks up at all of us. "Alright, the glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freakin' fingers."

"I'll do it." Thor says determinately.

"Excuse me?" Tony inquires as Thor walks over towards the gauntlet. We all try to stop him. "Stop, stop slow down."

"Thor, wait. We haven't decided whose going to put that on yet." Steve says.

I nod my head. "Yeah, we don't know what that could do to you."

"I'm sorry. What, we're all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor fires back.

"We should at least discuss it." Scott chimes in.

"Look, sitting here staring at the thing is not going to bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

"Normally, you're right. But it's not about that—"

"Stop it! Just let me...just let me do it," Thor begs, and it's a desperate plea. "Just let me do something good. Something right."

Tony gives him an understanding look, but doesn't budge. "It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent. I'm telling you you're in no condition."

"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor argues.

"Cheese Whiz?" Rhodey inquires. In another circumstance I would laugh. Thor doesn't find that comment amusing at all.

"Lightning." Thor replies.

"Lightning won't help you, pal," Bruce says, walking past all of us and toward the gauntlet. "It's gotta be me. You saw what those stones did to Thanos...they almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" Steve asks.

Bruce sighs. "We don't. But the radiation is mostly gamma. It's like...I was made for this."

"Be careful, Bruce." I tell him, making sure I'm ready to shift if need be.

"Good to go, yeah?" Tony asks.

Bruce nods, grabbing onto the gauntlet. "Let's do this."

"Remember; bring back everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago. You're just bringing them back now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years." He says slightly frantic. I can't blame him given how much he has on the line.

Bruce nods to him. "Got it. Everybody comes home."

The gauntlet grows larger as Bruce begins to stick his hand inside. Each of us preps ourselves for worst case scenario, with Tony even putting the whole compound on lockdown mode; basically turning it into a bunker.

Once the gauntlet fits itself onto Bruce's hand, the stones begin to glow brightly, sparking and burning up Bruce's arm. He lets out several painful screams, with Thor yelling for him to take it off.

"No wait! Bruce, are you okay?" Steve shouts to him.

"Talk to me, Banner." Tony says.

Bruce holds onto the gauntlet, hissing from the pain. I hate standing here watching as the stones burn Bruce's whole right side. He nods his head to us though, letting out another very loud groan. "I'm okay...I'm okay."

Bruce pants very heavily and begins to lift his arm, yelling out painfully. The Infinity Stones shine brighter and brighter the more he raises his arm. I see Bruce try desperately to work through the pain. He snaps his fingers. A bright flash of light appears, before the gauntlet falls from Bruce's hand and he drops to the floor.

All of us are at his side instantly. I stare at the chard flesh of his arm, feeling my stomach churn.

"Bruce! Bruce, are you okay?" Steve asks, both of us kneeling down on his left side.

I see Clint kick the gauntlet away. Tony kneels down near Bruce's bad arm, spraying something over it that seems to temporarily help with the pain. He holds onto Steve's arm as this is happening. I gently place my hand on Bruce's, trying to be whatever comfort I can be.

"Did it work?" Bruce asks through clenched teeth.

"We're not sure," Thor says, appearing at our side. "It's okay."

Did it work? I hope it did, because I don't think Bruce could handle that gauntlet again. I look over and see Scott approach the windows now that the bunker system was deactivated. Clint also moves away from us and towards the cell phone lying on the table across the room. Hesitantly I stand up, walking over towards Clint, hearing him ask: "Honey?" letting out a small sob at the voice that comes out the other end.

It worked. A smile spreads across my face and nothing could make it fade. This statement is short lived however, because I see a dark shadow cross over us. As I look up, I see a very large dark ship. Coming out of the dark ship is missiles. I have just enough time to feel alarm go through me, before I feel myself getting flown backwards and the world go black.


	46. What Happened?

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

I open my eyes and let out a pained breath. I move my arms around and feel the ground beneath me, hesitantly pushing myself up. I look down at my hands, then at the rest of my body. I touch my hands, my face and my chest trying to reassure myself I'm here. I let out a couple of shaky breaths, trying remember what the hell just happened to me.

"Alex?" I hear from a few feet away. I turn my body around and find Bucky sitting on the ground, touching his metal arm absentmindedly.

Things start to rush back to me; Thanos disappearing into a portal, Bucky turning into dust in front of me, Khari and Soroya screaming for me as my arm disappears, then my legs, then the rest of me...

"Oh my god," I mutter to myself, rushing over to Bucky's side, crushing him in an embrace. "You...you..."

Bucky embraces me back. I feel his breath catch and his body tense up as he reflects on what happened as well. When we pull back from each other, I know the same person is on our mind.

"Where is she?" Bucky asks.

Another person crosses my mind. "I don't know...where's-where's Khari? I need to find him." I say, feeling frantic as I realize I have no idea where either of them are.

"Are you both alright?" I hear T'Challa's voice ask. I look over to where he numbingly walks over to us, looking just as confused and slightly scared.

I nod to him. "Yeah, but I want to know what the hell happened to us."

"I think I can answer that." A woman's voice says from behind us. We all look around to see a tall red haired woman wearing a ridiculous looking cloak. Under her cloak she is wearing dark leggings, a dark purple long sleeve shirt with a dark red vest. Around her hands there seems to be orange glowing disks. I roll my eyes, asking myself how many superheroes there can actually be?

I glance at Bucky, who looks as confused as I am, and then glance back at the red head. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a sorcerer of the mystic arts," she says calmly. "Stephen Strange has sent all of us to collect you and others to join in the fight against Thanos."

"Alright, wait a second McGonagall," I say with a wave of my hand. "Thanos is still on earth? Or is he here again? Can you tell us what's going on and what happened to us?"

The woman crosses her arms, her glowing disks disappearing. She opens her mouth to speak, but she hesitates. I don't like the sorrow and pity that covers her face. "Thanos erased half of all life, as he planned, which included all of you...you have been dead for five years. The Avengers were able to bring you back though, but Thanos has returned because of it. We need all the help we can get to stop him."

Five years. I have no idea whether Soroya or Khari survived Thanos or not, but if they did that means they've spent the last five years without me...thinking I'm dead. Do they even know I'm alive? I look over to Bucky, who looks stunned and is no doubt having the same thought process I am.

I stand up, walking the few steps over to T'Challa. "We need to stop Thanos. I don't know about you, but I don't want to die again."

T'Challa numbingly nods, patting my shoulder gently. "We need to gather our army...I need to find my mother...and Shuri and Okoye. Did you inform them?" He asks, turning to the red head.

She nods. "The queen and the Jabari leader know of the coming fight and of your return. I would suggest you go and see your people, your majesty."

Other Avengers I hadn't realized were present stand there gawking at the witch lady for a moment, including; Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, and the talking tree. Sam goes over to Bucky, patting him sympathetically on the shoulders, telling him: "If the rest of the team brought us back, I guarantee Soroya is with them right now."

He's right. By the looks of things, everyone who came back appeared at the spot they died. I don't see Khari or Soroya. She would have gone with the Avengers, that sounds like my sister.

Bucky knows that's true as well. He nods his head to Sam. "I know she's with them. And that means she's facing Thanos and I need to be there with her."

We all seem to be in agreement we need to be on the battlefield. Before we can do that, T'Challa needs to gather everyone up for the fight, as well as greet his subjects. I have a task to do as well, because there's someone here I gotta see.

-

**Soroya**

I open my eyes and feel every muscle in my body ache. I push myself off what feels like the ground, blinking a few times to focus on my surroundings. I'm surrounded by the rubble of the Avengers compound, lying next to me is Clint, who looks just as disoriented as I do.

We seem to be in the sewer system beneath the compound; tunnels are on either side of us and red glowing lights are illuminating our faces as we force ourselves to stand.

Clint lets out a grunt, leaning against the wall of the tunnel. "You alright?"

I nod, leaning against a pile of rubble. "For someone who just got blown up, I think I'm alright. Where's everybody else?"

Clint has a flashlight on him and shines it up through a hole above us. I see that the entire compound has been completely destroyed, with a mountain of rubble all around us. "They're somewhere in all this mess. Cap? Bruce?" He shouts, but there's no reply.

We both look down one side of the sewer tunnel and just next to a steam of water, lies the gauntlet. I lean down and pick it up, brushing off some of the dirt and dust. As I do so, I hear a low growl coming from behind us.

Clint and I both turn towards the noise. I can smell the blood of the creatures that made the growl. I recognize them; they're the same creatures that we fought at Wakanda. Clint fires an arrow their way, and as the arrow lights up, I find that I was correct in my assessment.

With a nod to each other, Clint and I take off running down the tunnel, the gauntlet in my arm and Clint's bow in his. He fires several arrows towards the creatures, but they are thirsty for blood and mean business; clawing through the rubble and lunging towards us.

"Can you change into anything that might be helpful?" Clint asks as he fires another arrow.

"There are too many of them. I think running is our best bet."

Clint shrugs. "Running is good."

We get to a part of the sewers that isn't covered in rubble, which makes it easier to run for us, but also easier for the creatures chasing us. We make a left turn down another tunnel and I hear the creatures slam into the sides as they sprint after us.

"Do you have any special arrows in there?" I ask, tightening my grip on the gauntlet.

Clint nods. "You're in luck." He says, planting three arrows into the sides of the tunnel. I hear their beeping before they explode, sending the creatures right back to hell.

The blast blows us forewords, making us hit the ground hard. As we look back towards the explosion, we see that more creatures are coming. Clint takes out a grappling hook from his belt and shoots it up, attaching it to the roof of one of the tunnels above us. I hand him the gauntlet, shifting into an eagle and flying up as the grappling hook pulls him away from the beasts. A few creatures try to grab at us as we ascend the tunnels, but Clint takes out a sword and slashes one in half while I scratch the eyes out of another, sending them down to the ground.

We look back down to the lower levels and find that the creatures have given up. Shifting back into a human, I stand over Clint, who lies on his back and lets the gauntlet go limp at his side.

From another part of the tunnel, Nebula appears. I have never been more happy to see her. Clint smiles up at her, probably thinking the same thing. "Oh, hey. I know you."

Nebula takes the gauntlet from Clint and brings her hand up to her communicator. "Father...I have the stones."

Clint and I jerk at her response. Before we can do anything, she places a foot on his throat and points her gun at me.

"Don't!" I hear a woman say. From the shadows appears a green skinned woman, pointing a gun at Nebula.

Nebula looks at the woman in disgust. "You are betraying us?"

From another part of the tunnel, another Nebula appears. This makes the first Nebula lift her foot from Clint and point her gun away from me. I feel very confused for a moment, before realizing one has a metal arm and the other doesn't. So the one who tried to kill us is a past version of Nebula. The Nebula pleading to herself is the one I know.

The green woman must be her sister, the one Nebula always talks about. Realization hits me; if past Nebula and her sister are here, and given the message past Nebula sent through her communicator, Thanos must back. I glance over at Clint, knowing he's thinking the same thing.

I feel my blood boil at the thought of seeing that madman again. Our Nebula tells her past self that she can change, that she's seen what she becomes. But she doesn't waver, aiming her gun back at us. Our Nebula shoots her past self in the heart, the gauntlet dropping to the ground with a thud.

Nebula stares down at her former self, and I can tell she feels some catharsis amongst the pain. She glances at the gauntlet and then back to us. "Get it out of here. Don't let Thanos get it."

I grab onto the gauntlet again, holding it in a death grip. "Don't worry, I won't let him."

-

**Alex**

A few other sorcerer's are flying around, ushering warriors from all the tribes onto the field we fought Thanos on the first time. They all spot T'Challa immediately, crossing their arms over their chests as he passes by them, welcoming their king back. In the middle of the field is Ramonda and Shuri, who are in the middle of a loving embrace. T'Challa sees them and runs to them, wrapping his arms around his mother and sister. The relief and happiness filling all of their faces makes my heart ache. It only makes me want to find Soroya more.

Bucky and the other Avengers walk by my side. I know they're itching to get to Thanos. I have to say I am too. I need to see my sister, I have to know she's okay. I need to see Khari as well. I feel my worry increase as I scan the crowd of warriors and can't spot him.

"Alex!" I hear a deep voice yell.

My heart stops as I turn around. He is wearing his usual Jabari uniform, with his large wooden spear that he drops to the ground the second he sees me. He looks a little older. As I briefly do the math in my head, I realize he's older than me now. His face cracks and he begins to sob. He doesn't waste another moment before running over to me, wrapping his arms tightly around me. I feel tears fall down my face as well, letting out a laugh as I hold onto him.

Khari pulls back, looking me over and bringing his hands up to cup my face. "You're real. You're-you're back." He says through his tears.

I lean forward and plant my lips on his, feeling his grip tighten on my face; like he's afraid if he loosens his hold even a little bit, I'll slip away again. When I pull back, I bring my fingers up to wipe his tears away. I mirror his actions by cupping his face in my hands. "I'm so sorry, I can't imagine what it's been like for you—"

He shakes his head. "Don't you dare apologize. This is Thanos. I—I missed you so much. It's been hard, so so hard without you."

I collect him back into my arms and hold onto him tightly, reassuring him over and over again that I'm here, that I'm safe. I finally glance up and see that Bucky is giving me a pained smile, no doubt thinking of Soroya.

"Is Soroya with the Avengers?" I ask Khari.

He pulls back and takes a shaky breath, nodding his head. "She and I both have been working with them to rebuild the world for the past few years. She told me this morning she was going on a mission to get the stones back. They must have succeeded," He says, finally acknowledging Bucky. He smiles at him, grasping his arm in greeting, which Bucky returns. "She will be so overjoyed to see you both."

Bucky opens his mouth hesitantly, before asking with a low voice. "Is she okay?"

Khari looks between the two of us, before nodding his head slowly. "She's so strong, so she's managed better than a lot of us...but she's been missing a part of herself since you both died. As have I." He says brushing my face gently.

I grab hold of Khari's hand and kiss his knuckles gently, gripping it tightly and letting our joined hands fall back to our sides.

I look back over to T'Challa and see that he is getting ready at the front lines, with Shuri and Okoye next to him. Bucky, Khari, the other Avengers and I all make our way towards the front lines also. As we walk, I don't let go of Khari's hand for a second. Though we are a few seconds behind because Khari had to retrieve his spear.

One of the sorcerers opens up a portal of some sorts using their hands, and slowly, T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri make their way out. Sam flies in next, right as T'Challa shouts to his troops. All of them begin chanting back, making their way through the portal and onto the battle field. Khari and I walk alongside Bucky. I glance over at him as he cocks his gun, a look of pure determination on his face.

The scene before us is utterly terrifying. The same ships that had been at the first battle with Thanos are here, with thousands of those creatures standing their waiting for a command. Some new alien monsters I've never seen before are there as well; including the giant flying worms, ones I remember the Avengers fought in New York. In the middle of the chaos across the field of rubble is Thanos. My blood boils at the sight of him.

All around us portals are opening, with more and more people flooding in to help with the fight. Sorcerers, spaceships, aliens, Asgardians, the Avengers. They're all here, all willing to die if it means sending this bastard back to hell where he belongs. Bucky and I both scan the crowd of people for Soroya, but I don't see her.

Thousands of heroes flood through the portals and I feel out of place being here beside them. Begrudgingly, I let go of Khari's hand. I prepare myself to shift, running through my head all of the animals that would be useful.

Thanos stares at us in anger, but his rage is small compared to the rage coursing through each and every one of us. When the last of everyone steps onto the broken battle field, I look over to a few feet away; where Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Thor stand, leading the army of superheroes.

Steve Rogers, his shield in one hand and Thor's small hammer in the other, stands with the true air of a leader. The look of pride and determination on his face makes Thanos's face grow more annoyed.

"Avengers..." Steve Rogers shouts, setting his shoulders back, bringing his hammer up. "Assemble."

And with that, the battle of the universe begins.


	47. The Battle Of The Universe

_**POV:** _   
**Alex**

Everywhere I look is chaos. I glance up and see Tony Stark shooting down the creatures, a woman riding a pegasus stabbing a giant worm, and a fifty foot man taking down one of alien ships. I shift into a tiger as the creatures reach me and begin slicing at them with a fury. Don't mess with someone who just came back from the dead.

Guarding my back is Khari, who is stabbing the creatures that slip past me. A few feet from us is Bucky, who is shooting down the bastards with the same determination and rage.

I jump onto the back of one of the creatures and sink my claws and teeth into it's head, sending it down to the ground. In front of me, Steve Rogers and Thor are fighting back to back, both of them sending lightning bolts through the creatures chests.

I look back over to Khari and pounce on a creature that almost reaches his turned back. I claw at the creatures face, and with a load roar, I speed off to a group of them sneaking up on T'Challa.

T'Challa sends one of his kinetic energy blasts, sending me soaring back, knocking right into a fallen space ship. I shift back into a human and see T'Challa run up to me.

I glare at him. "Come on, man. Really?"

T'Challa grabs hold of my arm, lifting me onto my feet. "Sorry...but thanks for the help."

I look behind him and see a parade of creatures running towards us. I crouch down onto the ground, letting out a sigh. "Don't thank me yet." I tell him, shifting into a rhino and impaling three creatures at once with my horn.

I run back over towards where Khari and Bucky are fighting back to back. I shift from a rhino into a lion, jumping onto another creature's back and sinking my teeth into it's neck. Khari stabs a creature in the chest, then sinks the other end of his spear into another one's stomach. Once he frees his spear, he sends it flying into the eye of a creature about to claw at Bucky's back. Bucky turns towards Khari and nods his head to him in thanks, before running onto what looks like part of a wall and shooting at the creatures from a higher level.

I forget for a second that our communicators are all still linked together from the fight at Wakanda, so when I hear voices coming from my ear, I feel very confused. I shift back into a human, grabbing onto one of the alien guns and shooting the creatures done, trying to listen to what they're saying.

"Cap!" A man's voice says. "Cap! What do you want us to do with this damn thing?"

"Get those stones as far away as possible!" I hear Steve's voice shout.

I pick up a spear from one of the fallen Wakandan warriors and begin stabbing at the creatures. Using my enhanced strength, I push myself off the wall Bucky is standing on and launch towards a giant alien, sinking the spear into its back.

"No!" I hear Bruce Banner's voice reject. "We need to get them back where they came from."

"There's no way to get them back. Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel." Tony Stark says.

"There must be some way to get them back," A female voice says, one that makes my heart stop in my chest. "The moment Thanos sees the stones he'll come for them."

It's Soroya. I let out a laugh of pure joy. As I glance over at Bucky, I see that his face is showing the same elatedness.

"Hold on!" Another unfamiliar male voice says. "That wasn't our only time machine."

All of the sudden, through all the fighting, screaming, and gun fire, comes the sound of a car horn. I share a confused look with Bucky, but the confusion passes as Steve asks:

"Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?" So apparently someone built a time machine out of a brown van...wait is that how they brought us back? Did my baby sister time travel? That's no fair, I want to do that.

I throw my spear into the back of another creature, bringing it back out and sinking it into the neck of another one.

"Yes!" A female voice says. "But you're not going to like where it's parked."

"Scott? How long you need to get that thing working?" Tony asks.

"Maybe ten minutes."

"Get it started," Steve replies. "We'll get the stones to you."

"We're on it, Cap." Another female voice says.

Okay, so my sister and the Avengers time traveled to get the Infinity Stones, so what happened to the other ones? And how come Thanos is trying to get the second pair of them? Doesn't he have the first? This is all way too confusing. All I know is we need to get the stones back to a time machine in a van.

"Scott! I need your location! Where do I need to bring the stones to?" Soroya shouts. I feel a sinking in my stomach. She has the gauntlet.

"Between the last two black ships on the east side of the battlefield! Be careful you two, you're in the hotspot right now."

"No, shit!" She yells back. I can't help but let out a chuckle.

I look over to Bucky, who nods, knowing exactly what I was going to propose. We're gonna go protect her while she takes the stones across the field. Let's hope that we can get those stones back before Thanos gets them again.

I look over to Khari, who nods his head. "You go, I'll stay here."

I walk over to him and lean my head against his, letting out a deep breath. "Be careful." I tell him.

"Keep her safe." He tells me, before running over towards M'Baku and the other Jabari fighting a few yards away.

Bucky and I begin running across the battlefield, with Bucky shooting down creatures as I scan the crowd for Soroya. I still don't see her, and this fills me with worry.

A huge hoard of creatures stampede towards us, making me let out an annoyed groan. I shift into a bird, flying up into the sky. As the creatures nearly reach Bucky I shift into a whale, dropping on top of all the creatures and crushing them instantly. I shift back into a human and run back over to Bucky, who gives me an impressed look.

"That was clever." He tells me.

"Yes, yes you can sing my praises later. Let's go." I tell him. With that, we both continue to sprint towards the ugly brown van.

-

**Soroya**

Clint and I continue to make our way across the battlefield. I handed the gauntlet over to him so I could shift into a lion, clawing at the creatures who try to get to us. Clint can't use his bow, so he is using a sword to cut through the beasts. More and more creatures keep coming and it's growing harder to deal with them.

I glance over to our right and a few yards away is Thanos. Panic fills in me and my heart sinks down to the ground. Clint sees him too, making us both pick up speed, horrified when we find ourselves trapped by an incoming hoard of creatures.

As they almost reach us though, T'Challa sends a kinetic blast of energy towards the creatures, sending them flying back. "Clint! Give it to me!" He says.

I feel tears prickle my eyes as I see my friend for the first time in five years. He gives me a warm and knowing smile, one that says he missed me too. Clint hands over the gauntlet and T'Challa places it firmly in his arms.

"I got your back." I tell T'Challa. He squeezes my hand tightly, nodding his head to me. I shift back into a lion, attacking the creatures as we continue the trek to the ugly brown van.

T'Challa kicks at one of the creatures, flipping off a fallen piece of debris as a creature sends a blast from a gun his way. I pounce on the creature and bite into it's neck, following right behind T'Challa as we continue to run.

He double kicks two creatures and shoots a blast at two more. I shift back into a human to do the same; swiping my leg under one creature and stabbing it with a spear lying on the ground, sending the same spear into the back of another creature.

T'Challa sends another kinetic blast and I shift into a bird to avoid getting hit too. When I touch the ground again and shift back, T'Challa and I are hit with an unknown object, sending us flying to the ground.

I look over to see if he's fine and help him back onto his feet. When we look over to where the object came from, we see it was Thanos.

Thanos charges towards us, and just when I think that we have met our end, Wanda appears from the sky; her hands glowing red and her eyes filled with fury. I smile at the woman, before picking up the gauntlet and sprinting away again.

As we distance ourselves from Thanos, I think we might be in the clear. All of the sudden the gauntlet makes its way out of my hands and begins to float on a pile of rubble, shooting into the air. I look behind the pile and see that a sophisticated, and quite frankly bored, looking alien is trying to get the gauntlet away from us.

T'Challa jumps onto the pile and begins to climb. I shift into a bird, flying to the top of the rubble and grabbing onto the gauntlet like my life depends on it. The alien gets pissed off and begins to crush us with the rubble he's controlling. From the sky, a boy's voice comes over the coms.

"I got it!" He says. I watch as he passes over our heads and I toss the gauntlet up to him just in time. I see him land a good few yards away, feeling relieved knowing the stones are getting more and more distant from Thanos.

The rubble being crushed around my torso begins to hurt, making it harder and harder to breath. I look over at T'Challa, who can no longer struggle against the weight being pushed on him. Neither can I.

"Get the hell away from my sister!" I hear a familiar voice shout. When I look over to the alien, I see Alex kicking him in the knee. He then punches him hard in the face, making the alien lose his concentration. T'Challa and I drop to the ground hard. I lift my head up in time to see the alien get shot down. The man holding the gun is Bucky, who then picks up a spear off the ground and drives it into the aliens back for good measure.

The entire battle around me completely disappears; the only two things in the world I see are Alex and Bucky standing a few feet away from me. Alex has tears streaming down his face as he looks me over. He sprints to my side, collecting me in a large hug, burying his head into my shoulder.

I hug him tightly and sob, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck and feeling him pick me up off the ground as he holds me. I have missed him more than I could ever describe. By the way he is acting, I think he knows how long it's been since we have seen each other. I make a promise to myself that after having been separated from my brother twice, that it will never happen again.

Alex pulls back from me and holds onto my face gently, looking me over. "I can't believe it's been five years." He says with a small smile.

I nod my head, holding onto his wrists. "I'm older than you now. So you have to listen to what I say from now on."

Alex shrugs, sniffling. "We both know I'll never listen to anything you say."

I let out a laugh and wrap my arms around his torso, feeling him plant a kiss on the top of my head, squeezing my shoulders.

When we pull back again, I look behind Alex to see Bucky standing there starring at me.

Now technically I saw him a few hours ago, but that wasn't my Bucky. The man standing here; with his unkempt hair, his beard, his metal arm, and the tears silently spilling down his face. That's my Bucky.

I don't waste another second before launching myself into his arms. He wraps his arms around my back tightly, letting out a relieved sigh. He pulls back from me, cupping my face in his hands, reassuring himself that I'm alright. I feel the tears flow down my face faster as I look into his steel blue eyes. I bring his face down to mine and kiss him, feeling him melt into the kiss and hold onto me tighter.

Reality comes back to me and I remember we are still in the middle of a battle. With my enhanced hearing I hear screams of panic from across the field. I glance up in time to see Thanos's big ship point several canons down on the battle field, and watch as the canons rain fire on us.


	48. The Gauntlet

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

As the canons fire down onto the battlefield, I watch in terror as our army gets blown to bits. One blast comes near Alex, who shifts into a mouse just in time and hides under a piece of wreckage.

Some of the sorcerers put up protective shields above us, but blasts still slip through. One flies down towards Bucky, so I grab hold of him and shove him out of the way. When the blasts hits the ground we both get flown back, making me fall on top of him on the ground. I let out a couple of coughs, trying to get the dirt out of my lungs. I touch Bucky's face gently. "Are you okay?" I ask quietly, still trying to breath.

He nods, brushing a strand of my hair back. "You?"

I push myself off of him, extending my hand out to him and helping him back onto his feet. "I'll be fine once this is all over."

More of the beasts come storming towards us, thankfully some of them get blown to hell by the canon blasts. The ones that slip through the cracks get to deal with my teeth and claws as I shift back into a tiger. Bucky smiles at me proudly, before aiming his gun up and shooting at the beasts by my side.

The sorcerers shields are beginning to fail, making more and more blasts rain down on us. I scan the crowd again, finding that the spider boy still has the Gauntlet. This would be a good thing if not for the canon blasts completely surrounding him. I try to run towards him, but a blast sends me flying backwards. I hear Bucky scream my name, but then he too is blown backwards. I have no idea where Alex is, and I try to make myself get up, make myself move, but my limbs protest in pain.

All of the sudden, the canon fire stops. I force my head up to look at them. I see they're aiming at something else, firing to an unknown object in the sky.

"What the hell is this?" I hear Sam ask.

A glowing yellow ball appears from the clouds and crashes right into Thanos's ship; like its a knife cutting through paper. One by one the canons explode and the engines begin to fail. Out of the exploding ship flies Carol, splitting them entire ship practically in half.

"Carol! Damn is it good to see you!" I yell into the coms, watching as the ship falls into the water.

"Danvers," Steve says in the com channel. "We need an assist here."

The gauntlet. We need to get to the gauntlet. I force my limbs to move, force them to allow me to shift. Letting out a pained moan I shift into a bird, flying a little slowly over to where the young boy is. I see Carol fly over also, starring down at the boy amusingly.

I look around and see other heroes, other women, gathering around Carol and the young boy. I shift back into my human form, close enough to hear him comment: "I don't know how you're going to get through all that."

Amongst the women I see Okoye and Shuri. My heart soars at the sight of two of my best friends. Especially Shuri, who looks as strong as ever, who I have missed very much.

All of us gather around Carol, with Wanda replying to the boy; "Don't worry."

"She's got help." Okoye finishes.

Carol looks around at all of us, sharing a smile and nod with me, before focusing on the incoming hoard of aliens all trying to get the gauntlet. Pepper, in an iron man suit, flies down to join the party, as well as Nebula and her sister. All of us exchange a look of pride and strength, before running towards the army of creatures, trying to buy Carol some time to get the stones to the van. Wanda and Pepper send blasts at the creatures, a woman on a flying horse slices through one of the flying worms, and the others begun slicing through the ground troops.

I shift into a bird and fly up towards one of the flying worms. Once I'm above it, I shift into a human, landing on the creature's back. I yell to the flying horse woman; "Throw me a spear!"

She nods her head to me and chucks her spear. When I catch it, I dive it into the head of the worm. The worm points it's head up in pain, so I pull down on the spear. The spear begins splitting the worm in half, falling down the length of the beast with me along with it. I hear the creature roar loudly, beginning to fall to the ground. I throw the spear back up to the woman and she catches it, plunging it into another worm. I shift back into a bird, flying down to the ground. I return to my human form and watch as the worm hits the ground with a loud thud, crushing eighty creatures at once.

I look over and find Bucky and Alex starring at me a few yards away. I make my way towards them, finding Bucky's eyes filled with pride and Alex's filled with jealously.

As I reach them he shakes his head, muttering to himself. "Alright, you win. That was way cooler than what I did earlier."

"It wasn't a competition."

Alex scoffs. "It's always a competition."

I look back at the hoard still coming after us, sending a playful smile their way. "You boys gonna help or what?"

Alex rolls his eyes at me, running towards the fray. Bucky wraps an arm around my waist and kisses me on the temple, before running after Alex.

I let out a sigh and shift into a wolf, growling loudly and slashing into the chest of one of the creatures. I push off their body to sink my teeth into the neck of another. Bucky guards my back and shoots down the creatures that get too close to me.

As we continue to fight I worry about Carol, because she's nowhere in sight. My worry increases as I hear a loud crash come from the east side of the field. A large wave of energy blows our way, knocking everyone down to the ground. I loose concentration and shift back into a human, feeling my body get flown into Bucky's. I once again find myself having fallen on top of him, and this time I hit my head against his.

Rubbing at my forehead I let out a groan. "I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head, grabbing onto my arms and helping us onto our knees. "What was that?"

The wave that hit us looked very familiar, with its blue and orange hint to it. I realize with a sinking feeling in my stomach that Thanos must have destroyed the time portal.

"The van." I tell him.

He nods to me, and we both begin to sprint towards the east side of the battlefield where the van used to be. I have no doubt that's where I'll find Carol and Thanos.

As we grow closer to them, I see Carol has been knocked out, lying down next to a broken ship. Tony tries to get the gauntlet that's lying on the ground, but Thanos sends him flying backwards.

Thor flies in, hitting Thanos with his axe and trying to hold him off along with Steve, who jumps onto Thanos's back. I shift into a leopard, running towards them at high speeds, shifting back into a wolf as I launch myself at Thanos, sinking my claws into his chest. He lets out a groan of pain, but this doesn't seem to do much to him. He headbutts Thor, sending him backwards. He then grabs onto my throat and sends me flying back several yards. When Bucky sees me he tries to catch me, but it sends him flying backwards as well. I feel my head hit something hard and something else land on top of me, but my eyes fall shut before I can register what happened.

When I start to come to, I feel a painful ache in my head. I peel my eyes open and absentmindedly touch where my head hurts, finding blood on my fingers. I turn my head sideways, finding that I hit my head on what used to be a door. I let out a moan of pain, trying to get up, but there's something heavy on top of me. Bucky is the heavy thing on top of me; his body draped sideways over me.

I pat on his back, trying to get him to wake up. "Bucky. Bucky! Buck, wake up!"

He stirs, his eyes fluttering open and locking into me. His eyes trail down my body to where he lies draped over me. He pushes himself off, falling to the ground beside me. His hand searches the ground between us until he finds my hand, gripping it tightly.

"We need a vacation."

I squeeze his hand back, forcing myself to stand up. I grab hold of his arms and help him up also. When I look around, I let out a gasp.

Thanos's army are starting to disappear, turning into dust in the wind just like everyone did five years ago. I feel fear flow through me, instantly grabbing hold of Bucky. I slowly realize that only Thanos's creatures are disappearing, none of ours.

I look over to find Thanos sitting down on a broken piece of furniture, bowing his head before turning into dust as well.

Feeling relief, happiness, and every positive feeling imaginable glow through me, I wrap my arms around Bucky's neck and let out a laugh. He holds me back, spinning me around kissing my face several times, both of us feeling our victory to the fullest.

When Bucky places me back on the ground, I look over to find Tony with the Infinity Stones on his hand. My joy dies in my mouth as Tony collapses to the ground.


	49. The Ultimate Sacrifice

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

Tony falls down to the ground and leans against a piece of debris, looking on the verge of death. Rhodey lands next to him, gently touching his face, the look in his eyes saying everything he needs to.

I grip Bucky's hand as we make our way over to Tony. I feel my eyes water as I stare at the man in front of me. The man who sacrificed his life, a life with his family, to save the universe. I feel my eyes fill with tears as I look at a true hero.

The young boy, with tears streaming down his face, looks at Tony with devastation just like Rhodey's. "Hey, Mr. Stark. Can you hear me? It's Peter. We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it, sir, you did it. I'm...I'm sorry, Tony." He sobs just as Pepper lands, pulling the boy away from Tony, kneeling down beside her husband.

Thor, Steve, T'Challa, Carol, and several other Avengers and heroes join around Tony. I lean my head against Bucky's shoulder as the tears come quicker. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and holds me tightly.

Pepper smiles at her husband through her tears. Though I know Tony is in a lot of pain, he smiles back at her.

"Tony...look at me. We're going to be okay. You can rest now."

I see Tony's eyes become glossed over and the hand that was around Pepper's fall to the ground. I can't bring myself to look at the pain in Pepper's eyes as she kisses Tony's cheek, burying her face against his chest, sobbing over the death of her husband.

I glance over at Steve and Thor, who both are crying rather hard. Clint falls to his knees, covering his face with his hands and beginning to sob also. T'Challa sees this and falls down to his knees also, but not out of sorrow, out of respect. Carol glances over to him and does the same, dropping to the ground on her knees. Pretty soon everyone around Tony is dropping to their knees in respect; Nebula, Steve, Thor, Shuri, Okoye, Sam, Alex, Khari. All the Avengers drop down, and after a moment so do Bucky and I. He doesn't let go of me for a second as we sink to our knees. He holds onto me tightly and lets me cry into his shoulder, as we honor the ultimate sacrifice of a true hero.


	50. Whole Again

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

The battle was won, and so the only thing left to do was to go home. Of course, the Avengers compound is beyond repair. It makes me grateful I didn't keep much stored there. I am also glad I grabbed Bucky's dog tags before the explosion. Bucky noticed them hanging from my neck and smiled. When I tried to give them back to him, he shook his head, saying that they belonged with me.

He paused though as he stared at them. I knew he was piecing together where I got the dog tags. "You visited Olivia?"

I feel a sinking in my chest. I hate that I'm the one to have to tell him about his sister. "Bucky...Olivia died a few weeks ago. Her son James gave me the box of your things...I found this with them. I'm-I'm so sorry." I tell him. Not only did I know how wonderful Olivia was, but I knew what it felt like to lose a sibling. The pain in Bucky's eyes breaks my heart. I wish I could take his pain away.

I found Shuri and T'Challa talking to some of the other Wakandans, with Okoye a few feet away. I let go of Bucky's hand and I rush up to the siblings, wrapping my arms around them both. T'Challa and Shuri hug me back, with Shuri lingering a bit longer. I feel her tears falling onto my shoulder. I can't help but sob onto hers. I missed her more than I can say. When I pulled back from her, I ran over to Okoye and embraced her. She looks as exhausted as I do, but nothing can wipe the smile from her face. Her king and princess were back, our friends were back. That's all that mattered to her and to me.

I see Alex and Khari embracing a few yards away, and as much as I want to see my brother now, I know I need to give those two some time.

All around us are people reuniting, people embracing their loved ones for the first time in years. This moment, right here, was worth all the pain in the past five years. Steve spots us from a few yards away and I can see the tears stream down his face. He runs up to Bucky, practically throwing his arms around him. Bucky shows the same urgency. It warms my heart to see them both reunited. As Steve pulls back, he opens his arm up towards me. I hug onto Steve tightly, seeing a look of confusion in Bucky's eyes as he watches us embrace. This fades after a moment and is replaced with happiness. The two people he cares about the most looked out for each other the past few years and I can see this comforts Bucky.

The sun has set by the time we all go home. Each person on the battle field looks like they could sleep for a week. I fully plan on doing so. I was grateful one of the sorcerers opened a portal for all of us to return, because flying to Wakanda would have been a pain.

All of the warriors that needed medical attention received it, which kept T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri very busy. She ushered them all towards the hospital in Wakanda. She even pulled me aside upon seeing the head injury I received. She told me I just hit it pretty hard and that I might have a concussion. No permanent damage though and that was a relief. I didn't want my down fall to be a broken door.

I offered to help out with the wounded, but given I have no real medical experience, Shuri said she would manage. I hugged her tightly before I left and told her to call me if she needed any assistance.

Climbing up the stairs to the palace was physically painful. Alex winced every time he took a step, leaning on Khari for support. The two of them made their way into Alex's bedroom, while Bucky and I walk into mine. Both of us let out a heavy sigh and collapsed onto my bed. I've never been more grateful for how soft these beds are.

"I was really gone for five years?" Bucky asks after a few minutes.

I turn my head over and find him starring at me, pain written all over his face. I nod to him. "Yeah...yeah you were."

"Khari told me you joined the Avengers. He said you helped rebuild what Thanos destroyed."

I turn my body over so I'm fully facing him, placing my hands under my head. "We did the best we could. Some damage couldn't be fixed; like the damage the loss of all of you brought. All we could do was try to help the people move on, help them to move past the pain."

"Did you?"

I stare at him confused. "Did I what?"

"Move on?" He asks. I can tell he doesn't really want to know the answer to that question. He closes his eyes for a second, letting out a deep breath. As he says this next part, I know it's difficult for him to say: "Five years is a long time and...and I just want you to know that if you did move on...if you found someone else, that I am not angry. I want you to be happy. No matter what that means."

Maybe it's a combination of the exhaustion I feel from the battle or the emotional exhaustion of seeing him and Alex again, but I let out a laugh. As I laugh, tears being to run down my face. I no longer know whether I'm finding this amusing or sad. Maybe a bit of both.

I sit myself up, getting off the bed. I wipe away my tears and shake my head, trying to articulate how I feel. "Found someone else? You think I found someone else? Bucky, I determined a long time ago that that's impossible. I got asked out so many times in the last few years, some I did say yes to. I went on dates with other men. Hell, I even went back in time and saw you before you were a soldier. That wasn't good enough for me." I tell him, seeing the confusion wash over his face.

"You went back in time to see me?" He asks with creased brows.

I nod to him. "Thanos destroyed the Infinity Stones, so we had to travel back in time to get the stones back. But...but I was so scared it wouldn't work. So instead of helping the others get the stones, I traveled to the 40's. I went on a date with you the day before you shipped off to war."

He thinks about this for a moment. "At the Stark Expo?"

I nod.

"Then shouldn't I remember that? Remember seeing you there?"

I shake my head, rolling my eyes as Bruce's voice comes into my head. "Apparently that's not how time travel works. But my point is," I say to him, feeling the tears flow harder, my voice growing a bit strained. "Seeing a past version of you wasn't even good enough for me. I couldn't move on because you're the love of my life. I couldn't stand the thought of being with anyone but you. After you both died...it was like half of me was missing. I was terrified of getting hurt again, so I never let myself move on. But seeing you in the past reminded me that you shouldn't let fear stop you from being happy. That's what I was doing...and that is exactly why you can't push me away again."

He gives me another confused look. "What do you mean?"

I give him an incredulous look. "Before you died you pushed me away for months. You were convinced you couldn't be loved and didn't deserve it. You were afraid of getting hurt and getting me hurt, but that can't happen again!" I say, my silent tears turning into sobs. "I don't think I could survive you pushing me away or leaving me again. I really couldn't. You may be broken, Bucky Barnes, but so am I. And that's why we need each other. That's why you-you can't leave me."

I hear the bed creak as Bucky pushes himself off, walking up to me. He cups my face in his hands. I look into his eyes, and they're filled with conviction as he tells me, with no doubt in his voice: "You never have to worry about me leaving your side again. You're right, I was afraid. Alex was the one that made me see that that fear was pointless. Because you're right; we are both broken people. I see that now. I love you, Lena. I always have and that isn't going to change. I want every broken shard of you." He says, repeating what I told him when he came to my room the night before he died.

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a tight embrace, crying into his shoulder. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face in my neck. I can feel his hot tears falling onto my skin. We stand there for a long moment, just holding onto each other, because now we finally can. I remember doing this same thing back in the 40's, worrying it might be the last time. I'm so glad I was wrong.

Bucky pulls back after a while, wiping a tear from my face as he asks; "If you were my date, does that mean you went dancing with me after the Expo?"

I nod, letting out a laugh at the memory. "We danced to Fred Astaire."

He nods his head slowly, and after a moment his eyes fall onto the stereo on the other side of the room. He walks over to it, playing with a couple of the switches. I smile at the song that floods softly through the speakers; 'The Way You Look Tonight' by Fred Astaire.

He walks back over to me, grabbing hold of my hand. "You were able to get your dance. Now I want to get mine." He says softly, pulling me against his chest.

I bring my other hand and rest it on his shoulder, feeling his metal arm resting gently on my hip. I lean my head against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. I determine that sound is more beautiful than any piece of music I've ever heard. Bucky lets go of my hand after a while and wraps his other arm around me. I bring my other hand up to the side of his face, lifting my head up to look at him.

I brush my thumb across his temple, starring into the steel blue eyes that seem to hold me in a trance. We continue to sway as Bucky leans forward and presses a kiss on my forehead. I let out a deep breath, feeling for the first time since HYDRA took me, since my parents died, since I endured those five painful years, that I was home. This is my home; right here with him.

I feel a tear slip down my face and Bucky gently wipes it away, brushing my cheek before bringing his hand down to my chin. He tilts my head up and brings his lips down to mine. I feel like a flame has been lit inside of me and the heat of that flame spreads throughout my body. The heat intensifies as he brings his hands to my neck and rests his thumbs on my jaw. I run my hands down his chest and rest them on his hip bones, pulling him closer to me.

Bucky pulls back for a moment. In his eyes I can see a deep hunger and desperation. I feel my cheeks flare up at the intensity of his gaze.

Bucky searches my face, tightening his jaw and pressing his lips together. This alone makes my whole body feel like it is about to melt and fall to the floor. I feel that same hunger and desperation rise in me as I remember that this morning he was out of my reach. I couldn't look into those steel blue eyes. I couldn't kiss him, couldn't touch him, couldn't be with him. A newfound sense of determination flows through me; I wrap both arms around his neck, bringing his lips back to mine.

This seems to be all he needed. Whatever restraint and lock he held on himself fades away. He kisses me back with a deep passion; the passion of a man who has had to hide his emotions for a long time, like he forced them into a box and locked away the key. But tonight he is finally letting those emotions out. As he pulls back, I can see the raw emotion in his eyes, the vulnerability that's there. I know I'm the only one he would ever show that to. It makes my heart sing.

Bucky clutches at my hips tightly and lifts me up. I let out a small gasp of surprise against his mouth before locking my legs around his waist. I feel his metal hand clutch tightly at my hip while his other hand digs into my hair. I run my hands over his broad shoulders before bringing them up to his jaw, feeling the feverish heat to his skin.

I feel my back hit something and I peak an eye open to see my back is leaning against a wall. I tear my lips away from his and lean my forehead against his, pulling at the neck of his shirt. He sends me a questioning look with his eyes, but I nod once. He places his hands on the wall beside my head, allowing me to pull his shirt off and throw it onto the floor. I swallow hard as I look over his bare chest. It's like he was carved from stone, like he was a piece of art. I find myself feeling rather overwhelmed by him. I think he realizes this, because he forces my eyes to look back at his face. He smiles widely at me; with his eyes crinkling up in the corners and his nose scrunching up. I thank the lord the wall is here to keep me from crumbling to the floor.

Bucky's hands run down my shoulders and arms, pausing at the bottom of my shirt. He again pauses, looking into my eyes to ask if it's alright. I nod. He lifts my shirt up gently, his eyes glued to me the entire time. I bring my arms up, watching him fling it over next to his. He looks me over like I did to him, making me feel a bit self conscious. As I look into his eyes though, I see the same overwhelmed look; like he is starring at a work of art, like my very touch was undoing him piece by piece.

"Lena...are you sure?" He asks, his voice just above a whisper.

I feel a slight bit of panic. I've never done this before, any of this before. But I promised myself I wouldn't let fear drive me any longer. I know what I want, so I nod my head, pulling his face back to mine. He grips my hips tightly, pulling me harder against him as he pulls us away from the wall, over towards my bed.

He lets out a deep breath as he lowers me on top of the blankets, running his eyes up and down me from head to toe. I feel like my skin is bursting, aching for his touch. He stands there for another moment, like he's taking everything in. I watch his adam's apple bob as he lowers himself over me, hovering an inch above me. I feel his breath on my face, his nose gently brushing mine. He waits for me to make the first move.

I hesitate for a moment, but I hear myself whispering to him; "I've never done this before."

He smiles down at me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear before brushing my cheek. "I haven't done this in eighty years, so I think we're pretty even."

I let out a nervous laugh, appreciating his attempt to make me feel better. But despite his attempts I still feel slightly overwhelmed. He brings his hand to my face, brushing my cheek. His eyes are gentle and comforting as he says; "It's just you and me."

I nod to him, cupping his face. "Always." I whisper back, bringing his lips back to mine. Most of my nerves stem from worry that I will mess up or somehow do this wrong. But he was right; it's just me and him. And that's how it should be.

Slowly the barriers between us broke. I knew being vulnerable like this must be difficult for him. I also knew he wanted me to see the real him, the broken shards of him that he calls unworthy and pitiful. I welcome those shards with open arms and call them beautiful, because that's what he is; a beautifully broken masterpiece.

He may be broken but so am I, and what he never realized is that what we needed to be pieced back together was each other. Its in this moment that everything we've been through, everything that left us bleeding and broken on the ground, with no hope of ever being pieced back together, has been washed away. We piece ourselves back together as one, becoming whole again.


	51. The Morning After

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

I trail my fingers down his face, brushing my knuckles against his cheek. He turns his head and kisses the back of my hand, then grabs onto it with his metal hand and holds it tightly to his chest. I feel goosebumps go up my arm at the cold touch of the metal.

He and I have been laying here like this for hours; under the blankets facing each other, with our heads pressed together and his one good arm around me.

"So, when you went to the past," Bucky begins. "How did you pull it all off? I mean you had to know exactly where to find me and when."

I let out a short laugh, thinking back to that adventure. It doesn't feel like it happened yesterday. It feels like it was eons ago.

"Steve took me to the Smithsonian. I saw a newspaper article of the date of the Stark Expo on a board there. I had seen pictures of you with your two dates, so when I decided to go and see you, I subtly asked Steve where you found the dates for the Expo. I then went to the diner and waited for you to come in. But I made sure I got rid of the original dates first."

Bucky gives me a look of confusion. "Why?"

I shake my head, looking down at the blankets. "I was worried that if you saw them there you would pick them instead of me...and well, I just wanted to make sure I had the best possible chance of being your date."

He smiles, leaning forward and kissing me. He lets out a small laugh as he pulls away. "There is no way I would have overlooked you."

I look back up at him, feeling myself blushing. "I was worried that...that without all of the history between us that you wouldn't notice me. It's something I had thought about; if we had just met on the streets as two normal people, would we have still ended up here."

He nods firmly, bringing my hand up and kissing my knuckles again. "I think that if we had met in another life, as normal people, that we would have still ended up right here," he says, gesturing between us. "And as far as me in 1942, I definitely would still have picked you. You know by now I was...um well...I was a ladies man back then. You're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, so me in the past would have overlooked everyone else."

I smile widely, blushing like a school girl. "It was definitely interesting seeing you act so differently. I didn't really like it. One of the pluses was the military uniform though. Also the haircut."

He raises his eyebrows. "You like the short hair?"

I bring my hand up and twirl a strand of his hair between my fingers, nodding my head. "I really like the short hair."

He laughs, wrapping both arms around my bare waist, pulling my closer. "I still don't understand how I don't remember you in the past. You're gonna have to explain time travel to me."

I nod, grazing my nose with his. "Later." I tell him, before cupping his face and kissing him once again.

-

When I wake up the next morning, I feel extremely exhausted; like I could sleep for another full day. My body aches as well; truly feeling how many times I was punched, kicked, and blown up yesterday. I reflect on the battle that we fought yesterday, and the heartbreak we all endured due to Tony's sacrifice.

But as I turn my head over and see Bucky's peaceful sleeping face a few inches from mine, with his arm draped over my stomach, I smile. I remember that not every part of last night was horrible. I feel myself blushing as I think about it.

I decide to let him sleep a little longer, so I shift into a mouse and let his arm fall gently onto the bed. He doesn't stir at all as I scurry off the bed and shift back into human form. I walk into the bathroom, taking a quick shower, rubbing all the dirt, sweat, and blood off of me.

By the time I get out and get dressed, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a lose fitting black blouse, I see that Bucky has woken up. He is still laying in bed, looking as exhausted as I am, but he sleepily smiles at me. "Good morning."

I smile back at him, walking over to him and planting a kiss on his lips. "Good morning to you, too," I say, walking towards the door. "I'm going to go get us some coffee...you should go take a shower and get all of the dirt and blood off of you."

He nods his head, watching me as I shut the door behind me. I make my way down to the kitchen in the palace. I would often sneak down early in the morning before training and eat a nice breakfast with Okoye or Khari. I used to do that with Alex before the blip happened, too. And speaking of, when I open the doors to the kitchen, I find my brother leaning against the counter; a cup of coffee up to his mouth.

When he sees me, a mischievous smile is on his lips. He places his other hand on his mug and holds it against his chest. "Well good morning sleepy head."

I glance over at the clock on the wall and see it's nearly noon. I squint my eyes at my brother. "What's with that smile?"

Alex shakes his head and takes another sip of coffee. I give him another suspicious look before going over to the coffee maker and pouring two mugs. As I do so, I hear Alex sigh.

This sigh is followed by him commenting; "Have you ever thought about the fact that Bucky is older than Grandma and Grandpa? By like a few years."

I turn my head slowly to him, crossing my arms. Unfortunately I had thought of this, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

Alex continues. "Or, that when you were born, he was around seventy years old?"

I feel very unamused by this. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

He nods, taking another sip of coffee. "Oh I do, but I wanted to take this moment to make you feel uncomfortable about your sex life."

I feel myself blush. I open my mouth to speak several times, but I find that no words leave my mouth. I pick up one of the mugs and take a big gulp of coffee, glaring at him. "You're a child."

He holds his hands up defensively. "It's not my fault there's a thin wall between your bedroom and mine."

I place the mug down and bring my hands up to cover my face, wishing I had teleporting powers instead of shapeshifting powers.

Alex lets out another sigh and smiles at me. "I'm happy you're happy," he says, not joking for once. "You deserve it."

I rub my hands over my face and let out a deep breath, still feeling mortified. "Thank you, Alex. That means a lot."

Alex opens his mouth up, but closes it again before giving me a guilty look. "Okay...I have one more tease and then I'm done."

I roll my eyes but gesture for him to continue. He nods and smiles at me, looking rather proud of himself. "Have you ever heard the term 'robbing the cradle'? Well sis, you are 'robbing the grave'."

I grab the mugs of coffee and walk past him, once again telling him he's immature, to which he replies; "What else is new?" At least he owns up to it.

Still feeling mortified, I make my way back to my room. When I push open my door, I find Bucky sitting on the bed; wearing a pair of dark jeans and a dark sweatshirt. He smiles widely at me once he sees me, but his smile fades as he sees the look on my face. "What is it?"

I hand him his cup of coffee, setting my own down on the table that holds my stereo and tv. I shake my head and cover my face with my hands. "Alex was in the kitchen when I went down there...he was teasing me about last night."

He knits his eyebrows together. "Last night?" He asks, but after I give him a look, he pieces it together. "Oh."

"I just hate that he knows about it. This was supposed to be just about us. I've never been with someone before and I was already worried I did something wrong last night. Alex just made it all worse." I tell him, rambling as I rub my hands over my face.

Bucky shakes his head, setting his mug down on the floor and gesturing for me to come closer to him. I do so, feeling him grab onto my hands and bring them away from my face, holding them tightly in his. "The last thing you need to worry about is that. You did nothing wrong."

I never usually feel embarrassed. I hate how worried I am about what he's thinking and what he thought about last night. But I remember Shuri telling me that it makes sense that I'm so embarrassed and scared about these things. I have no experience...well, I guess now I do have some.

"Really?" I ask, my voice very quiet.

He kisses both of my hands, squeezing them tightly. "Last night was the best night of my life," he assures me. "If anything I should be the one worrying. I mean I haven't been with someone since 1942 and it was your first time. That's a lot of pressure. I was worrying the entire time you were gone if you...I don't know, if you regretted it."

I never thought he would genuinely be nervous or worried. He has absolutely no reason to be and I tell him as much. I wrap my arms around his neck and sit down on his lap, feeling his arms lock around my waist.

"I will never regret it, not ever." I assure him. "But I do have to say, after hearing Alex's teases, I want to make a rule where we don't discuss your age."

Bucky lets out a chuckle. "Was it that bad?"

"He told me I'm 'robbing the grave'."

Bucky nods his head, kissing my nose. "I'm completely okay with leaving that conversation out in the future. Does that mean you won't call me 'old man' anymore?"

I laugh lightly, leaning my head against his shoulder, kissing his cheek. "Only on special occasions."


	52. Part Of The Journey Is The End

_**POV:** _   
**Bucky**

A few days later we are all on one of the jets flying to Tony Stark's house for his funeral. T'Challa, Shuri, Okoye, Alex, Khari, Lena, and me all solemnly stepped onto the grass outside the quaint house. Everyone from the battle was there, all wearing black, all feeling the weight of Stark's absence.

My grief over his death is fueled with guilt over what I did to him, what I never got to make up for. I know what I did to Maria and Howard Stark wasn't my fault, but the guilt is still there. It always will be. I know Stark never forgave me. I will always regret never having the chance to make amends.

Lena knows how hard I take his death. Through her own grief she tries to comfort me the best she can.

As we make our way into the house, Lena hugs Stark's wife and kneels down to say hello to their daughter. I nod respectfully to both before we both make our way inside. All of the Avengers are present for the funeral. It really shows just how many lives Tony Stark touched in his life.

We both find Steve talking with Thor. We walk over towards them and Lena embraces them both. She wipes at her eyes, shaking her head. "I hate funerals. We have had too many of them." She says.

I didn't even think about that. She had a funeral for me, for her brother, for her friends. I grip her waist harder, making her glance up at me and give me a sad smile.

Steve lets out a deep breath. "Hopefully this will be one of the last."

Thor nods solemnly, before looking at me with a curiously raises brow. "And who are you?"

I share a look with Steve and Lena before extending my hand out towards the god of thunder. "Bucky Barnes."

Realization comes over his face. "Ah, yes. You're Steve's Russian assassin friend."

That's one way to put it, so I nod to him. After talking for a little while more, Lena goes over towards where James Rhodes and Scott Lang sit quietly. She hugs both of them and I am left starring in wonder. For so long she and I made it our duty to keep hidden, to not have anyone know who we are. Now she's an Avenger. Now all of these heroes we once ran from, she is friends with. It will take some getting used to.

Steve and I are left alone after a while. I glance over to find he's looking at Lena as well. I clasp him on the shoulder, dropping my voice a little lower. "I wanted to thank you; for looking out for her the past few years."

Steve smiles. "We looked out for each other. She's an incredible person. I'm incredibly lucky to call her a friend."

"She's taking Stark's death pretty hard. How about you?"

"I think we all are. I mean, he gave up all of this. He gave up his wife, his daughter, his life, for all of us," Steve says, his pain evident in his voice. "How are you doing?" Steve then asks me.

"Not the best," I tell him honestly. "I just wish I could have...made amends before he passed."

Steve pats me gently on the back. "I know, Buck. But deep down I know Tony knew you weren't at fault for what happened."

"Did you two make amends?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, we did. He had a better five years then the rest of us did. He had this home, his family. He learned to forgive. I was grateful I got my friend back before this happened..."

I grip his shoulder tightly, knowing there's nothing I can really say to make him feel better.

Stark apparently recorded a message on one of his suits. His wife plays the message for the whole house to hear. The message isn't just audio, it's visual too. All of us gather around the living room to see a hologram of Tony Stark projected in the corner of the room.

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time," Stark's hologram says. Lena makes her way back over to us, leaning her head and back against my chest. I wrap my arms around her stomach as we listen to Stark speak. "I'm hoping if you play this back...it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited. I hope we get it back and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised but come on, who knew? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And for better or worse that's the reality Morgan is gonna have to find a way to grow up in. So I thought I'd better record a little greeting in the case of an untimely death. On my part. Not that death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow...it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. Then again, that's the hero gig, right? Part of the journey is the end. What am I even tripping for? Everything is gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to. I love you three thousand." He finishes, leaning down and starring directly at his daughter.

After the message is over, and the hologram of Stark vanishes, we all make our way outside. His wife and daughter leading the way, with all of us following after them. His wife is holding a pile of flowers. As object that looks like one of the cores of Stark's suits is on top. His wife gently places it onto the lake, tears streaming down her face.

All of us stand in their front yard, watching that small pile of flowers drift away. Each of us is silent, mourning the fallen hero in different ways. Steve is more towards the lake, while Lena and I stay a bit further back; next to Sam and Wanda Maximoff.

In front of us, Alex and Khari stand hand in hand right beside T'Challa, his sister and the general. Alex, for once, is silently respectful. I can't help but feel impressed he has any sort of self restraint.

I feel Sam's hand gently squeeze my shoulder. I look over to see him give me an understanding look, knowing how hard I take Stark's death. Lena also tries to comfort me, with one hand wrapped around my arm and the other firmly grasping my hand. I see the tears silently fall down her face. She wipes them away as she leans her head against my shoulder.

Despite the horrible occasion, one bright light in the darkness is how beautiful she looks today. She's wearing a long black dress she borrowed from the princess; it falls to about her knees and poofs out as it goes down. It's short sleeved and over it she's wearing a thin black sweater. Around her neck are my dog tags. I smile at them every time she wears them.

But smile dies however as I think of Olivia. It will take me a while to grieve the death of my baby sister.

After the funeral is over, Lena goes off to talk with T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri. I can see how happy it makes her to be with her friends again. I know she needs their comfort right now. Steve and I take this opportunity to take a walk around, finding the woods around the house very peaceful.

"Did Soroya explain the whole time travel thing to you?" Steve asks me.

I nod slightly. "Sort of. She told me you guys went back in time to get the stones because Thanos destroyed the originals. That's how you brought us back, but past Thanos came as well."

Steve nods, nodding over to a fallen tree a few feet from us. He brings his hands out of his pockets and rests them on his lap as he sits down, closing his eyes as he enjoys the peace and quiet.

"Did she tell you that we have to bring the stones back where they came from?"

I shake my head, sitting down next to him. "No, no she didn't."

"In order to keep the timeline intact, the stones need to be brought back to the exact moment they were taken," Steve says. "And I volunteered to be the one to return them."

"That will be pretty hard. Do you need me to come with you?"

Steve smirks at me, but shakes his head. "No...no I think...when Soroya went back in time to see you, it got me thinking about something. And now, after everything Tony sacrificed for all of us to be happy, I'm thinking I might make another stop on my journey."

I give him a confused look, but slowly it dawns on me what he's getting at. I feel my heart sink in my chest. "You want to go back, don't you? To our time?"

Steve nods and he turns towards me more, struggling to find the right words. "Tony had a wife...a daughter and a beautiful life. I forgot that that was something I have wanted for a long time. I gave up on it because I couldn't have it with the one person I wanted it with...but now I have a way to be with Peggy again."

I nod slowly, feeling like my lungs are being crushed. "Is this what you really want? To go back to the past and live out your life in our time?"

Steve takes a second, but he nods his head firmly. If there's one thing I know about Steve; once he sets his mind on something there's nothing you can do or say to stop him.

I smile at him. "I want you to be happy. I know that Peggy was the love of your life. After all you've been through, you deserve a quiet, normal life with her."

Steve smiles sadly, tears brimming his eyes as they do my own. Through all of the horrors I've been through, through all the hardships, Steve has been there. He's been my best friend, my family for over a century. As much as it breaks my heart to say goodbye, I know that I want him to be happy. I want him to find peace. I pull him in for a hug, knowing I don't have to say any of these things to him. He already knows.

"You could come with me if you want to." He says, pulling back. He and I both know the answer to that offer.

I shake my head, wiping my eyes. "As much as I miss our time...I can't go with you. My heart belongs here. I would never be happy without Soroya."

Steve nods, smiling widely despite his tears. "I'm glad that you were able to find the love and happiness you deserve."

I smile back at him. "And I hope you can find that yourself." I tell him, and I truly mean it. A life without Steve will be hard, but I know that I will be fine. He and I both need to find the lives we were robbed of. We both need to find that peace; his is with Peggy Carter and mine is with Lena.


	53. A Beautiful Life

_**POV:** _   
**Soroya**

A few days after the funeral, I find myself back at the ruins of the Avengers compound. Bruce has been working his butt off to get the time machine up and running again and I think he's finally done it.

We had Scott test it earlier yesterday. He returned from his journey with a post card from 1999 New York. So clearly the machine works.

Bruce is firing up the machine now while Steve, Bucky, Sam and I stand around, starring at the rubble of the compound.

"I'm so thankful I didn't leave that much stuff in my room." I comment.

Steve sighs. "Yeah, at least I had an apartment. Most of the others had everything here."

"Do you guys have insurance?" Sam asks.

Steve shakes his head. "Hard to find insurance for an Avengers base."

Bruce gets the machine ready, handing Steve the case filled with the Infinity Stones. "Remember you have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them or you're gonna end up opening a bunch of nasty alternative realities."

Steve grasps the case tightly. "Don't worry, Bruce. I'll clip all the branches."

"You know I tried. With the gauntlet, I tried to bring her back. I miss her, man."

Steve nods solemnly. "Me too."

The weight of Nat's absence was hard, especially after the funeral we held for her here a few days ago. I missed my friend dearly, but took comfort that her sacrifice wasn't in vain.

Bucky and I are standing over towards the machine. I watch as Steve and Sam make their way closer to us, with Sam offering to help Steve return the stones.

"You're a good man, Sam. This one is on me though." He tells him, shaking his hand firmly.

Steve walks over towards us, smiling at me widely. "Keep him out of trouble, will you?"

I glance back at Bucky before smirking at Steve. "I will try my best...be careful, Steve." I tell him, pulling him in for a hug. He returns this embrace with enthusiasm; squeezing me very tightly.

He smiles at me one more time before turning his attention to his best friend. I feel confusion wash over me at the sorrow in Bucky's eyes. I try to figure out why.

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

Bucky grins ironically. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

I smile to myself, remembering when they said this to each other before Bucky went off to war, though at the time those words were reversed. Steve pulls Bucky in for an embrace. Bucky looks even sadder as he pulls back.

"I'm gonna miss you, buddy." He says, his voice strained.

"It's gonna be okay, Buck." Steve assures him. Bucky smiles at his best friend despite how he's obviously feeling.

Steve walks onto the smaller scaled platform, where the same glowing red arms hum as the machine turns on. Steve picks up Thor's hammer and activates his suit, clicking the helmet on last.

"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asks.

"For him, as long as he needs. For us, ten seconds," Bruce responds. "All right, we'll meet you back here, okay?"

"You bet." Steve responds, sharing a look with Bucky that I don't understand.

"Going quantum in three...two...one." Bruce says, and then Steve vanishes. "And returning in five...four...three...two...one." Bruce flips the switch again, but Steve doesn't return.

"Where is he?" Sam asks.

"I don't know, he blew right by his time stamp. He should be here."

Bucky turns away from the machine, a small smile on his face. I stand there and think it through for a moment. The suspicion that pops into my mind is confirmed when a few yards away, an older man sits on a bench in front of the lake.

Bruce and Sam continue to grow frantic as Steve still doesn't appear, but Bucky's voice is unsurprised as he says: "Sam."

Sam turns, walking over to our side, starring at the old man on the bench.

"Go ahead." Bucky says, smiling at the man and then at Sam. Sam hesitates for a moment, but approaches the old man. As the older man turns his head to Sam, I see that it's an older Steve.

"You knew." I say to Bucky, stating it as a fact.

He nods. "We talked about it at Stark's funeral. He wanted to be with Peggy. He finally had a way to do so."

I smile at the old Steve, feeling tears prickling my eyes again. This time though, they're happy tears. "I'm so happy he got to share a life with her. But I'm gonna miss him."

Bucky lets out a deep breath, gripping my hand tightly in his. "Yeah...yeah me too."

Steve hands Sam his shield, making the latter hesitate. He looks over to Bucky for approval, which he gives with a nod. Sam straps the shield on smiling down at Steve. I can't think of anyone else more worthy of picking up Steve's mantel.

Bucky and I approach him next. It's very shocking to see Steve like this. I sit next to him on the bench, letting out a laugh. "At least you look your age now."

He lets out a chuckle, looking between Bucky and me. "Take care of each other for me, will you?"

I nod, not bothering to wipe the tears that fall down my face. "I promise," I tell him, grabbing onto one of his wrinkled hands. "Did you find that life you wanted?"

He nods, smiling to himself. "I did. And it was beautiful." He tells me. That's all I could have asked for him, for any of us.

"Promise me you'll have a beautiful one, too." He says to me.

I glance over at Bucky, and then back to Steve, assuring him; "My life already is."

-

"So, Captain America is old now?" Alex asks me.

He, Bucky, and I are sitting on a hill right outside the main city of Wakanda. We wanted to take a few hours to breath, to enjoy this quiet moment we have. I glance over at Alex, seeing a dangling object shine in the sunlight. Attached to his pants is Papa's pocket watch. I feel a smile form on my face. I had never gotten to see him wear it after I'd found it. Seeing him wear such an old fashioned object makes me want to laugh.

I nod to my brother. "Yes, and Sam is taking up the mantel of Captain America."

"So what's the plan for you two?" Alex asks us. "I can't imagine you continuing your quaint farm life, Buck."

Bucky shakes his head, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I don't know...I've never gotten to be able to choose before."

I nod firmly. "We'll figure that out together."

Alex smiles at the two of us, picking at blades of grass and throwing them back down on the ground. "I'm gonna stay here in Wakanda."

I look over at my brother, who smiles happily at me. "My life is here; my friends, my job, the man I love. Wakanda is home."

I grab onto his hand and he squeezes it tightly. I feel overwhelmed hearing him say that. This is all I've ever wanted for him. I know both of us are finally happy now after all these years. I couldn't be more grateful for it.

"I think we should all take a vacation." Alex suggests.

"Where to?" Bucky asks.

Alex shrugs. "Vegas?"

I shake my head. "I don't trust you with gambling."

Alex doesn't disagree with me. "How about some place nice? Like Greece or Hawaii? I think the four of us could use a break."

I look at Bucky, who nods his head, kissing my temple. I look back at Alex and smile. "Greece it is. How about we leave tomorrow morning?"

Alex says to us with some sarcasm. "Hopefully the world won't try to end while we're on our trip."

I shrug, leaning my head against Bucky's shoulder. "We'll deal with it if it does. That's the hero gig, right?" I say, lifting my head up. Bucky nods once, smiling at me widely without an ounce of sadness or pain in his eyes. And as he brings my lips to his, I know that however many battles we will fight in the future, or the pain we will endure, we will endure it. And we'll endure it they way we will everything now; together.


End file.
